The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Beacon of hope: Centre flashes stop sign at Lal Battis

    Synopsis

    The road transport ministry had forwarded three options to PMO after holding consultations with senior Cabinet ministers.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: In a significant step towards ending VIP culture, the Centre has decided no vehicles will have beacons except those of emergency services such as fire brigade and ambulance.

    The rule will apply to vehicles with central and state governments and will also extend to the president, prime minister, chief ministers and other lawmakers.

    The cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the decision that will be effective May 1.

    “PM decided and he informed the cabinet of the decision... A rule under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, is being scrapped,” finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

    Modi’s ministers were quick to come out in support of the move. “The PM is all for removing anything that symbolises VIP culture in the country. I have already removed red beacon from my car,” road transport minister Nitin Gadkari told ET.

    “Fully support the #Modi-Govt's decision to abolish Lal Batti. As a true believer of #EveryoneVIPinNewIndia never used Lal Batti as a minister,” tweeted oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

    Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu said he had not been using red beacon since he became a minister in 2014. The amendments will be made public before they come into effect.

    Rule 108 deals with use of red, blue and yellow beacon lights. A sub rule under this says some categories of vehicles of high dignitaries, which can be specified by the central or state government, can carry beacons.

    “This is a central rule. This rule is being removed. It is being abolished so neither the Centre nor the state can nominate a dignitary to carry a beacon light on their vehicle,” Jaitley said, adding there will be no exception.

    Blue beacons, however, will be allowed on vehicles for defined emergency services including ambulance, fire brigade and police vehicles. Services covered would be specified later, Jaitley said.

    “The proposal was pending for some time. The prime minister had asked us to take suggestions from various senior ministers before sending a final proposal on limiting the use of beacons. I am happy that the proposal has been accepted,” Gadkari said. “We will now make necessary provisions in the law,” he added.

    Red beacons are allowed for all cabinet ministers and those with the rank of cabinet ministers at the Centre. However, the number of dignitaries using red beacon is much larger in states. Recently, the Punjab government also curbed the use of red beacons by its ministers.

    STATE BORROWING
    The union cabinet also approved the policy guidelines to allow financially sound state government entities to borrow directly from bilateral ODA (official development assistance) partners for implementation of vital infrastructure projects.

    The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), a state government entity, has also been allowed to borrow directly from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for implementation of Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) project.

    The estimated project cost for MTHL is Rs 17,854 crore, out of which JICA loan portion is expected to be Rs 15,109 crore.

    The repayment of loan and interest to the funding agencies will be directly remitted by the borrower.

    The concerned state government will furnish guarantee for the loan. The government of India will provide counter guarantee for the loan.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in