Road Safety Bill unlikely to pass in Monsoon session

Transport ministry officials blame 'vested interests' for Bill's delay

The revised Road Transport and Safety Bill, which is scheduled to be tabled in the Monsoon session of Parliament, may face fresh opposition and hit a roadblock again.

Sources in the transport ministry blame ‘vested interests’ for stifling the Bill's progress. The latest draft of the Bill is a watered down version of the original one.

“Some people have reservations about the Bill and that is what is creating a roadblock. It is unlikely to make any progress”, said a source in the ministry.

The Road Transport and Safety Bill, with its stricter penalties and regulation, will replace the existing Central Motor Vehicles Act. However, due to constant opposition from stakeholders, some crucial changes had to be made to the Bill.

For instance, as punishment for offences relating to manufacturing of faulty vehicles, the revised penalty proposed in the Bill stands at Rs 50,000 per vehicle in the fourth draft against Rs 500,000 proposed in the primary version.

The automotive industry had reservations about the draft’s proposal with regards to recall of vehicles. Vehicle manufacturing companies had strongly opposed the idea of giving an appointed body  the power to order a recall if a minimum of 100 people reported major defect in the vehicle. The new version of the Bill does not specify number of car owners who need to report a defect forcing the National Authority to order a recall. Only a 'percentage of owners specified by the National Authority' reporting a vehicle defect in the can be considered for a recall.

Further, the Bill is labelled as 'anti-worker' and opposed by the transport unions for being 'friendly' to the corporate sector. Unions backed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have staunchly opposed the Bill accusing the central government of trying to strangulate the Regional Transport Offices and auctioning bus routes. The unions had called for a nation-wide strike on April 30 against the Bill.

For the first time the Bill also made a provision for making the road construction company and government officials accountable for any faulty road designs or their lackadaisical approach to maintain that stretch of road. It proposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh or a year-long jail term. The revised draft has no jail term with the fine being reduced to Rs 1 lakh.

According to data from the Union Home Ministry 19 people die every hour in road accidents across the country. India records one of the highest road-related deaths in the world.