Hyderabad: After strong objections from the state, the Centre has reportedly set aside the proposed road transport and safety Bill, which had tough provisions for erring motorists.
The Union ministry of road transport informed the Telangana state government that the Bill was not being considered in its entirety, and only some amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act were being pursued.
The main objection to the proposed Bill was that it would take away the powers of state governments. The TS government had expressed serious reservations on some of the amendments proposed in the Bill, at the recent Southern Zonal Council Standing Committee meeting recently.
TS said the amendments would reduce the power of state governments to give licences, fitness certificate and others. Reacting to this, a representative of the Union ministry of road transport and highways said the Bill was not being considered at the moment.
The Centre had published the draft Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014 to repeal the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. A senior TS official said that if the amendment Bill went through, the state government would not be able to formulate schemes or programmes which were state-specific.
The control of road transport, road safety and planning would be with the Centre, the officer told this newspaper. The officer said vehicle tax was a major source of revenue for the governments; taking over this power from the states would be against the spirit of the Constitution.
