HC fixes July 15 deadline for installing speed governors
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 27
Modern rickshaws, popularly known as eco-cabs, may soon be plying on Chandigarh roads. The spacious rickshaws are 25 per cent lighter than the existing models.
As a traffic-regulation case came up for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ajay Tewari, senior standing counsel for Chandigarh Administration Sanjay Kaushal said they had approached the manufacturer of the eco-cabs. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation too had written to the UT department of science and technology for 10 eco-cabs as a part of a pilot project, he added.
Taking up the matter, the Bench also fixed July 15 as the deadline for the states of Punjab and Haryana to take a decision on installing speed governors on transport vehicles.
The Bench also made it clear that in case of failure to take a clear cut decision in the matter, the principal secretary or the transport commissioner would remain present in the court on the next date.
The issue of installing speed governors on private vehicles is also expected to come up for discussion at a later date.
The Bench is currently hearing a petition filed by an NGO, Suraksha Foundation. It is seeking directions to the states of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, to prepare an implementation plan for installation of electronic speed governors within a specific timeframe for reducing the road accidents.
In the petition, the foundation had earlier sought directions to the state of Punjab and another respondent to “follow the provisions of Rule 118 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules and to direct the state to prepare an implementation plan for the installation of electronic speed limiters within a specific time frame.”
