According to sources a high level meeting of ministers and officials convened by kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram had decided to explore the areas where the increased penalty rates under the amended Motor Vehicle Act can be brought down to an ‘affordable’ level. The Transport Minister AK Saseendran said that a draft will be prepared detailing the penalties that can be brought down by the state.
He said "We are exploring multiple options," the minister said, adding that a final decision is yet to be taken”. Furthermore the report quoted government sources who said that there are as many as eight points where the state can reduce the penalty to a more rational sum from the existing ones.
He added "The priority areas, which the state will try to fix by itself, are those penalties where the amended act has given a range of fines with a maximum upper limit up to which the penalty can be imposed”. Moreover it was decided in the meeting that the transport secretary will be entrusted to prepare a draft and make another round of deliberations before finalizing the revised penalty and the draft will be finalized after consultation with the law department.
