Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will now personally oversee the Delhi government’s road-safety initiatives.
The decision comes amid the government’s bid to further improve the safety standards of the city in the wake of road fatalities ruining families every year.
In addition to this, the Delhi government has announced that it will enforce of traffic norms and take strict action against violators. With these measures, the government aims to reduce the number of accidents on Delhi roads and improve the safety of its citizens.
Kejriwal chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review Delhi’s Road Safety Standards and Initiatives.
The CM took stock of various projects and proposals during the meeting including diversion of compounding fees towards the Road Safety Fund and setting up of safe school zones.
Kejriwal reviewed road accident data of Delhi, highlighting his concerns about overspeeding on city’s roads. He also discussed the Bus Lane Initiative by the Enforcement branch of the Transport Department, road improvement projects and the strengthening of the golden hour treatment mechanism. The meeting was attended by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, senior officers of all departments concerned and experts from IIT Delhi.
The Delhi government had recently conducted a study with the John Hopkins University’s International Injury Prevention Unit & CSIR’s Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to study road safety practices.
The study has resulted in three major takeaways, – first, helmet clasping rule needs to be urgently enforced; second, seat-belts for rear seat passengers need to be enforced and children safety needs attention; third, speed enforcement is required with urgent intervention for trucks, and light pickup trucks.
While assessing Institutional Response to Road Safety, the CM took note of the Road Safety Lead Agency that was established in 2017 with Traffic police, PWD, Health Dept, Education Dept, and CATS. The purpose of this agency is to conduct multi stakeholder consultation, prepare road safety plans, and review road crashes. At the same time, the CM was presented with the details of the Rs 1 crore worth Road Safety Fund that was established in 2017 on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Kejriwal observed that as per guidelines the fund should also consist of 50 per cent of the compounding fees for traffic offences collected by the government, and directed the officers to immediately implement the same.
The CM noted that if the compounding fees is added to the fund then the government will be able to implement its road safety initiatives better on the ground.
While reviewing Road Crash Death Reduction Targets, the CM expressed his concerns on the numbers, and brought up the case of the golden hour treatment mechanism.
He said that the government had introduced the Farishtey Dilli Ke scheme with an intention to strengthen the golden hour treatment mechanism which has resulted in saving thousands of lives. Such initiatives can help save more lives and prevent crash deaths, he added. The scheme has helped provide critical treatment free of cost in around 13,000 cases in the last two years.
The CM directed the officers to conduct a study on this scheme to assess its impact on the basis of how many people were given treatment in a life-and-death situation and how many were treated for ordinary injuries.