Members across party lines on Tuesday appreciated the Bill which seeks to provide for road safety, grant of licenses and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles, and penalties for violation of these provisions, and sought clarification from Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Speaking during the resumed debate on The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, All India Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy supported the steps taken for road safety in the Bill. He stressed that the enforcement of rules is very important which is done by the state and urged that handholding should be done by the Centre in this direction.
‘Mr Gadkari is a dream merchant, but we need dreamers. It is good to dream, so we make some progress,’ he said. Mr Roy also maintained that corporates should not enter the transport sector, adding that it should be subsidised. He supported the safety measures incorporated in the Bill and added that states should be taken onboard. Supriya Sule of NCP said if the bill is not compulsory for states then how will it become seamless in the country.
She maintained that Electric buses were expensive and asked the government to make them cost-effective. ‘We need absolute system which gives seamless treatment,’ Ms Sule said and questioned the disparity in granting of funds for buses and metros. She also emphasised on allied services like food, toilets on the highway, and said this could prove to be game changer.
Kaushalendra Kumar (JD-U), Prataprao Jadhav (Shiv Sena), Chandrani Murmu (Biju Janata Dal), Kunwar Danish Ali (BSP), Kesineni Srinivas (TDP), Ajay Mishra (BJP), N K Premachandran (RSP), Anupriys Patel (Apna Dal) and S Jothimani (Congress) also spoke. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 15.
