On-duty emergency vehicles allowed to use beacons: Centre
The Centre has allowed emergency vehicles on duty for maintaining law and order, including those of the police, defence and paramilitary forces, to use multi-coloured beacon lights having red, blue and white colours.
Seeking to end the VIP culture, the Union cabinet last month had decided that beacon lights will be removed from all vehicles from May 1, except emergency vehicles, like ambulances and fire brigade.
“The central government hereby specifies that the vehicles on office duty which are designated for the... emergency and disaster management duties may be allowed to use multi-coloured red, blue and white lights,” the road transport and highways ministry notified.
Elaborating on the kinds of vehicles, the notification said they pertain to duties relating to control of fire and the duties by police, defence forces or paramilitary forces for maintenance of law and order.
Also the duties relating to management of natural disasters including earthquake, flood, land slide, cyclone, tsunami and man-made disasters including nuclear disaster, chemical disaster and biological disaster can use such lights.
“The multi-coloured light shall not be put to use when the vehicle is not on the designated duty,” the notification issued in pursuance of powers conferred on the Central government under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 said.
The notification mentioned that every year, the state/union territory (UT) transport department shall issue a public notice bringing to the notice of the general public the list of authorities which were permitted to use these vehicles.
It said such vehicles shall display on their windscreen a sticker issued by the transport department of the concerned state or UT which shall include details like designation of the officer and vehicle number.
“Only one sticker shall be issued to the designated officer for one vehicle at one point of time,” the notification said, adding the sticker shall be on security printed water mark paper and shall carry a hologram as specified by the concerned transport department.
The government, after the Cabinet meeting on April 19 had said that the vehicles with beacon lights, “have no place in a democratic country”.