Chandigarh, July 15, 2019: Official circles in Punjab were in a quandary when the Department of Transport, Government of Punjab, issued a notification June 14, 2019 wherein it was mentioned that, in pursuance of provisions of rule 108 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, all previous notifications issued by the Department of Transport, Government of Punjab, regarding use of beacon lights on rooftop of official vehicles stands withdrawn with immediate effect.
When Babushahi spoke to a senior officer in the state government, he said that no doubt the notification was issued but it doesn’t mean that red beacons will make a comeback on all state government vehicles which were previously fitted with them before the ban came into effect on April15, 2017.
“The ban on use of red beacons on unauthorised vehicles will remain. The new motor vehicle Act released by the Centre has this ban incorporated in it, which means it overrides all bans imposed by individual states. In light of this, the Punjab transport department withdrew its notification and now it will follow the new Act,” said the officer, speaking to Babushahi.
This is the Department of Transport, Government of Punjab, notification issued on June 14, 2019:
Rule 108 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, says: