Thiruvananthapuram: The traffic violators in the state can get away with paying less fines than prescribed by the new Central rule. A meeting called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Saturday decided to slash the fines, but did not finalise the quantum.
The meeting attended by the officials of various departments, transport minister A.K. Saseendran and law minister A.K. Balan asked the transport secretary to fix the fines. The government will send a letter again to the Centre seeking clarity on the fines.
The hefty fines proposed in the amended Motor Vehicles Act had invited much criticism.
Lower penalties may be fixed for violations with a defined range of fines as per the amendment.
The state government has sought the law department’s advice on the steps the state can take in the case of various offences.
Mr Saseendran told reporters that the government would approach the centre to bring down the hefty hikes.
The Centre had not responded to Mr Saseendran’s earlier request for the purpose. Though Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari had said that the states can determine the fines, no official notification was issued on it.
