New Delhi: Supporting the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Tuesday urged the Centre to increase the amount of compensation to be paid to the victims in case accident deaths.
Speaking on behalf of the party during the discussion on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, BJD MP from Keonjhar Chandrani Murmu praised the Union government for bringing the Bill. She urged the government to hike compensation in accidental death stating that Rs 1 lakh is not sufficient.
“The Bill proposes to increase the minimum compensation for `hit-and-run’ cases from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh in case of death and from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000 in case of grievous injury which is not sufficient nowadays. So, I would like to request the minister to consider increasing this amount keeping in view the seriousness of the injury,” Chandrani said.
The BJD legislator also urged the government to increase the penalty amount on the contractor for non-compliance with safety standards. She wanted to know whether a fine of Rs 1 lakh would be a sufficient deterrent for a contractor when the cost of such projects is above Rs 15 crore per km on an average.
Chandrani sought clarification from the Union government over the cost sharing for implementation of road safety measures.
“It is unclear who will bear the cost of implementing such safety measures. Ensuring electronic monitoring across roads in a state would involve a significant amount of investment on infrastructure such as CCTV cameras, speed detectors and other devices on the part of the state,” she said.
The Keonjhar MP also appreciated the government’s move of opening driving training institutes in every district and for removing the norm which makes matriculation compulsory for drivers. She said it will help unemployed and uneducated youth to get employment.
“The Bill provides for a National Road Safety Board to be created by the Central government through a notification which will still be advisory in nature. With regard to construction and maintenance of the roads and motor vehicles, the agency should have the necessary powers to monitor compliance, issue directions and levy penalties wherever necessary,” Chandrani added.