The Joint Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will launch a new state-supported road safety enhancement program worth Rs 7,270 crore to help achieve the vision of zero road deaths on roads in India. The centrally funded six-year plan will be implemented in 14 states, which now account for 85% of all road deaths in the country. Although MoRTH will provide budget support of Rs 3,635 crore, it will obtain loans of Rs 1,818 crore from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Of the total amount, Rs 6,725 crore will be paid to 14 states based on their performance, while MoRTH will use Rs 545 crore for capacity building activities. The plan will encourage the state government to promote road safety interventions at the grassroots level, with the main goal of curbing road accidents and reducing the number of deaths.

The target states of the plan are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Te Langana, West Bengal, Orissa, Haryana and Assam. This is an output- and results-oriented program in which the performance of the states will be evaluated based on 11 mandatory indicators and three optional indicators (road safety interventions). Grants will be distributed to states based on key performance indicators.

The preliminary project report prepared by MoRTH stated that the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act (2019) was introduced as an important intervention to achieve the goal of reducing the number of deaths.

The goal of the new plan is to reduce the mortality rate by 30% by March 2027. Cyclists, two- and three-wheeler riders, and pedestrians have been identified as vulnerable road users, and they account for approximately 54% of road traffic deaths in India. Under the new plan, performance-based indicators have been proposed to reduce the impact of road accidents on these vulnerable users. By 2022-23, the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) will be launched in all states and will be used to identify and correct all black spots on interstate highways and major regional roads.

News Source : Backtrack