core sector communique

Dr.C.P.Joshi Calls for Shifting Road Safety Activities to Developing and Implementing Sustainable Programmes State Transport Ministers Meeting on Road Safety Held

The Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Dr. C.P. Joshi has said that the ad hoc Road Safety activities should be shifted to developing and implementing sustainable programmes. Chairing a “Meeting of State Road Transport Ministers of all States/Union Territories on Road Safety” here today, he said that it requires certain conditions to be met such as having a critical mass of competent personnel, prioritising road safety at the political level and as a development issue, securing sustainable funding mechanism and establishing institutional structures responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating road safety programme. He expressed his deep concern on the growing number of deaths due to road accidents in our country and said that the loss of the main bread earner and head of household due to death or disability can be catastrophic, leading to lower living standards and poverty, in addition to the human cost of bereavement. In India more than half of road accident victims are in the age group 20 to 65 years, the key wage earning and child raising age group. The Minister said that the causes and the simple preventive cures of accidents are well known and the stricter enforcement of vehicle standards and speed limits and separate lanes for different categories of road users are needed for tackling the road traffic crisis in our country. The Union as well as State Governments have a primary role to play in creating safe road traffic conditions through safe infrastructure, legislation, enforcement and education. He emphasised on strict action on the use of goods/commercial vehicles for the purpose of public transport. He said that the message of Road Safety should be spread to the people to make them aware of the Road Safety practices and in bringing about a change in their attitude and behaviour. He said that the today’s meeting arrived at far reaching conclusions to form the basis for the future work plan as for as road safety is concerned and assured that such meetings will be held more frequently He stressed on the need for integration of Information Technology in Road Safety measures. He informed the participants that the Motor Vehicles Act has been passed in the Rajya Sabha and is under consideration in Lok Sabha. The number of road accidents are decreasing but number of people dying in road accidents are increasing. The representatives of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra and BSA Corporations Ltd. made their presentations on Road Safety measures and relative issues. The Transport Ministers and Secretaries of various States and Union Territories participated in the meeting. The meeting discussed various issues viz. Spurt in road accident deaths cause of concern; Institutional mechanism at State level to address road safety issues; Status and functioning of State level council and state road safety fund; Status and functioning of district level committee; States’ annual action plan on road safety; Funding of road safety plan; and Central assistance on road safety.