Road ministry proposes Centre’s authority to set speed limits for NHs | India News

New Delhi: To end confusion among commuters over speed limits on national highways and expressways, the road transport ministry has proposed that the authority to set these restrictions rest with the Center while state governments retain the power to notify norms for all other roads under their jurisdiction.The ministry recently shared a host of proposed changes to end ambiguity over the speed limits that state governments and local police set on NHs and expressways, including: Since the speed limit is set by local authorities, commuters, who do not use the NH frequently, fail to note it and end up paying fines.Currently, the Ministry of Road Transport notifies the maximum speed limit for all categories of roads, but state agencies can reduce it.People aware of the plans said the ministry has proposed to amend Section-112 of the MV Act, which empowers state governments to set both minimum and maximum speed limits. Similarly, Article 113, which empowers states to regulate, restrict or prohibit vehicles on the basis of weight, will be amended.In order to bring clarity, it has been proposed that in the case of NH, the power to specify the norms would rest with the Ministry and the States would be free to define the limits of their roads.“Though, the posted speed norms for vehicles in NH is 100 kmph, states and local police often reduce it to 60-70 kmph on NH stretches passing through urban areas. This creates many compliance issues for commuters. The proposed amendments will address this. NH is under the Control of National Highways Act and the NH administration has been appointed by the Authority of Highways Act (LH) and the authority to control land, traffic management, and highways. Removal of unauthorized possession. Hence, there will be no more confusion,” said an official.