The centre is considering an online platform for reporting accidents – by involved parties – to avoid applicability of hit and run provisions under the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Road Transport and Highways Secretary, Anurag Jain said Friday. He also said that award of future highway projects would be as per Vision 2047 to minimise overlaps and better implementation.
The country had faced unprecedented disruptions in the beginning of 2024 with truckers refusing to work in protest of Hit and Run provisions in the BNS. The law passed in December provides for strict jail term and penalty if drivers involved in an accident escape the crime scene. Truckers say they fear being lynched by mobs if they stay back at an accident site so vacating the crime scene is their only choice.
Responding to a query on the trucker protest, Jain said, “Some concerns of truckers are valid. We have proposed a mechanism for online reporting of accidents. Once an incident is reported by a driver on the online system, it may not be considered punishable under hit and run cases.”
“There can also be a phone number for reporting hit and run cases. This suggestion is being deliberated by the Home Ministry,” he said.
Earlier this week, the centre said that hit and run provisions of the BNS have not yet been enforced and that implementation of law will only take place after deliberations.
Besides laws for safer roads, the centre is also pushing for more highway creation. According to official data, length of national highways (NH) in the country stood at 1.46 lakh kilometres (kms) till November 2023. This is a significant rise over 2013-14 levels when NH length stood at 91,287 kms.
According to official data, 5,248 kms of NH were constructed in the current fiscal till November-end, up from 4,766 kms in the same months of the last financial year. Commenting on NH construction for the year, Jain said, “We are confident of achieving around 13,000 kms highway construction during the current fiscal.”
While NH building is underway, award of new projects has slowed down. During the current fiscal, 2,815 kms of highways have been awarded till November 2023. This stood at 5,382 kms in the same period during previous fiscal.
Responding to a query on the delayed award of projects, Jain said that future award of projects will be as per the Vision 2047 document of the roads ministry.
Sector watchers say lack of approvals for revised estimates of the Bharatmala 1 scheme threaten to slow down award of new projects and the shortfall may affect pace of construction in fiscal 2024-25. The centre aimed to build 34,800 kms of NH since 2017 under the Bharatmala. Of this, 27,384 kms has been awarded and the constructed length stood at 15,045 kms.
