The Goa cabinet decided to cross through the traffic sentinel scheme in the state over little marginal equity, on Wednesday. The government has decided to increase vigil through the installation of CCTV camera and deployment of traffic police instead. The state has also highlighted a lack of financial funds as a case for the withdrawal.
Goa marks-off the financial reward scheme
In a bid to instil civic responsibility among its people, the Goa government had launched a traffic-sentinel scheme which offered financial rewards to volunteers, reporting traffic violations. The scheme was introduced in 2017 to encourage the idea of community policing through active assistance from the citizens. However, on Wednesday, the Chief Minister stated that several people in Goa had made a business out of it; a means of abnormal earning through the state treasury. As a result, the state has marked-off the financial reward scheme.
As per reports, the system was very thorough. Sentinel had to register on an app, where they could report offences. Each complaint fetched them points which then added up to a certain financial incentive. However, several cases of minor violations were also reported by the sentinels, leading to persecution. This has further made the scheme the perpetrator of controversy in Goa.
Under its ambit, violations such as driving against the flow of traffic, parking on footpaths or zebra crossings, triple-seat riding, improper number plates, driving without a seatbelt, riding without a helmet, using vehicles with tinted glasses, using phone while driving, dangerous driving and red light jumping could be reported.
While the order was under temporary suspension from July 15 last year, the state authorities have decided to do away with it completely. Instead, more secure systems of CCTV cameras and traffic police will now be engaged to check traffic in Goa.
