Fearing public backlash ahead of the Assembly polls, the state govt has stayed the new provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 2019, till further notice. This means violators will pay penalties as per old provisions. The Centre's decision to steeply hike the fines during the amendment of the Act has come under public scrutiny. Subsequently, the state government was bashed for imposing heavy fines for traffic offences.

As states do not need to follow the Centre in toto and can revise provisions at their legislative discretion, Maharashtra, too, wanted to use its say in the matter. Transport Minister Diwakar Raote had earlier expressed displeasure over the unaffordable penalty amounts. He had warned that this would give rise to corruption in the police and transport departments. Raote had said offenders and enforcement officers would prefer to settle the matter for bribes instead.