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The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has criticised the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for the continuous existence of “black spots” on national highways (NHs).

News in Detail

Black spots on national highways are accident-prone areas identified based on the occurrence of a certain number of accidents resulting in fatalities and injuries over three consecutive calendar years. These spots are a major concern because they represent preventable dangers to road users.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport has criticised the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for not taking adequate steps to address these danger zones effectively. 

Parliamentary Panel proposed Action Plan to tackle black spots

The parliamentary panel proposes a three-tier prioritization framework to address black spots based on severity, complexity of intervention, and population exposure.

• For Category A (highest risk) black spots, the Ministry must adopt a rapid-response protocol with mandatory intervention within 30 days. Temporary safety measures should be deployed while permanent solutions are designed.
• For Category B and C black spots, the Ministry must establish deadlines of 90 days and 180 days, respectively, with penalties for non-compliance by implementing agencies.
• The panel also emphasizes post-implementation safety audits at 3- and 12-month intervals to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

It is recommended to develop a public dashboard to show the status of all identified black spots, rectification progress, and responsible authorities.

Current Status of black spot rectification

According to MoRTH data, out of the total 13,795 black spots identified on national highways

• Long-term rectification has been completed on only 5,036 black spots.
• Short-term measures have been implemented on 11,515 black spots, but these are temporary fixes. Long-term measures, such as improving road geometrics, constructing underpasses or overpasses, and widening carriageways, are still pending for many locations.

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Source:

INDIAN EXPRESS

https://t.me/+hJqMV1O0se03Njk9