Motor Vehicles Dept Staff’s ‘Unique’ Protest Forces Kerala Government to Retreat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Faced with an unusually swift and effective protest by its own Motor Vehicles Department employees, the Kerala government has revoked the suspension of the two department officials who faced action for imposing a Rs 5,000 fine on a vehicle involved in flood-relief operations in Adoor.

The government, however, has stopped short of a complete climbdown.

The two officials have been reinstated but transferred out of Adoor and posted to different locations, the government said, noting that the departmental probe into the incident would continue.

The reversal came within hours of MVD employees launching an indefinite non-cooperation protest, under which officials continued roadside inspections but stopped imposing fines on traffic violators.

Instead, motorists were counselled and allowed to proceed.

The protest had threatened to affect one of the department’s most visible functions: enforcement of traffic rules while also potentially hitting the state’s revenue from traffic penalties.

The speed with which the government revoked the suspension underscored the impact of the employees’ agitation.

The two officials, Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors, had been suspended after imposing a Rs 5,000 fine on a vehicle fitted with an unauthorised bonnet-mounted light.

The vehicle was on its way to Aranmula for flood and disaster relief operations.

The suspension had triggered widespread public outrage but also strong resentment within the MVD.

The officials maintained that they had been carrying out a routine vehicle inspection and that the driver had not informed them that the vehicle was being used for rescue operations.

They also pointed out that they had acted under a government circular issued on August 4 directing strict enforcement of traffic violations.

The development strengthened the employees’ contention that the two officials had been punished without being given an adequate opportunity to explain their side. MVD employees responded by wearing black badges and announcing that they would not collect petty fines or drive departmental vehicles.

The Transport Commissioner subsequently issued memos to Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors wearing the black badges, citing violation of the prescribed uniform code, further widening the confrontation.

The government’s decision to revoke the suspension has now eased the immediate confrontation, although the transfers of the two officials indicate that the administration has sought a middle path, withdrawing the punitive action while ensuring that the officials do not return to their previous postings.

The episode has also exposed the delicate balance between strict enforcement and discretion expected from MVD personnel, particularly when dealing with vehicles involved in emergency and rescue operations.

What began with a Rs 5,000 fine over a bonnet-mounted light had, within days, developed into a full-fledged confrontation between the government and its own enforcement machinery.

For the MVD employees, the rapid withdrawal of the suspension is being seen as a vindication of their protest.

For the government, the transfers provide a way out of a confrontation that threatened to escalate further.

A video that surfaced on Monday, however, appeared to undermine a key aspect of the action against the officials, with the people in the vehicle stating that they were engaged in relief operations.