Thiruvananthapuram: The state cabinet on Wednesday has decided to reduce fines for certain offences which were hiked by the Centre under the new Motor Vehicle Act.
According to an official from the State Transport Department, the fines for speeding, the first-time offence by a light motor vehicle has been reduced to Rs 1500 from the existing fine of Rs. 1000 to 2000. Whereas for the heavy vehicle, the fine for speeding has been kept Rs 3000 reducing from the existing Rs 2000 to 4000.
The use of mobile phone while driving will incur a fine of Rs 2000 in the state while it was fixed between Rs. 1000 to 5000 by the Centre.
The Kerala government had kept the implementation of the amended Motor Vehicle Act on hold after the act drew flak from the public.
The new fine prices under the act were to be implemented from September 1 in the country but some states like Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab have put the new rules on hold.
Earlier, states like Karnataka and Gujarat have also revised the fine slabs under the Act before the implementation.