Installation of speed governors begins

Ponda: Transport minister Ramkrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar said that the department has begun the installation of speed governors (a speed limit device) to vehicles involved in public transport and mining trucks.
Dhavalikar told TOI, "We are implementing the Supreme Court order. The state government cannot make any changes to the act passed by the Union government."
He added that during the first phase, only mining trucks, buses, including schools buses, will be installed with speed governors."We have not decided on the installation of speed governors on private vehicles yet," Dhavalikar said.
"Following Supreme Court directives, the installation of speed governors have become mandatory to all vehicles," Dhavalikar told TOI.
The Union ministry of road transport and highways, in its notification of April 15, 2015, has made installation of speed governors mandatory with a maximum pre-set speed of 80 km/hour to vehicles manufactured on or after October 1, 2015. If the vehicles have not been fitted with the device at the manufacturing stage, it should be installed at the dealership stage, the notification stated.
The compulsion has created panic among tempo and other heavy vehicle operators in Ponda. Many of them said that they were not aware of the equipment and that the transport department has sprung this on them all of a sudden when they had approached the office of the regional transport officer (RTO) to get their vehicle passed.
Vehicle owners claim that each device costs about 20,000 in Goa.
Some have demanded that the government either revoke the compulsion or exempt the vehicles with low business from installing the equipment.
The minister has claimed that the installation has become mandatory and now only the Union government can look into the matter.