Telangana to enact own law for traffic violation: CM

The Telangana government is not in haste to implement the new penalty system under the amended Motor Vehicles Act, which came into force from September 1, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Sunday.

Rao also said the state government would come out with its own law on the subject. "The new Act brought by the Centre, will not be implemented for now. We will make our own law. We are not in a hurry (to implement the new penalties). We do not want to harass people (with hefty fines)," Rao said.

He was responding to a request from AIMIM MLA Jaffer Hussain in the Legislative Assembly. The Parliament passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in July. The new law seeks to tighten traffic regulations and impose steep penalties for violations of traffic rules.

Under the new law, people not wearing helmets or seat-belts will be fined Rs 1,000, up from the earlier Rs 100, while those driving without a licence can be fined Rs 5,000, up from Rs 500, or face 3-month jail. A senior government official had said though the central government has amended the Act, states have the powers to take a call on penalties.