Nitin Gadkari: Motor Vehicles Bill on its Way to the Cabinet

The Motor Vehicles Bill will soon be sent to the Cabinet and government is planning to introduce it in Parliament during the ongoing winter session, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said today.

"We have sought Prime Minister's time to make a presentation to him on the Motor Vehicles Bill and once the Cabinet approves it we will introduce the bill," he told reporters here today. "I am making all efforts to introduce the bill in this session," he added.

The ministry has prepared the bill after consultations with the states, general public and other stakeholders, he said. The government last month issued guidelines which paved the way for plying of "special purpose battery operated vehicles" or e-rickshaws.

As per information, the Bill seeks to relax the norms for issuing 'learners licence' for e-rickshaw drivers. It states that no person will be granted a learner's licence to drive a transport vehicle (commercial vehicle) unless he has held a driving licence for light motor vehicle for at least one year.

The bill will be in sync with practices in six advanced nations like US, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Germany and the UK. It is aimed at adopting international best practices in road safety which will help in the reduction of road accidents in the country. The bill will also overhaul the sector by bringing the corrupt practices in the RTOs to an end.