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Addressing Governance Failures in Highway Black Spot Rectification
Context:
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture has identified serious governance failures in addressing black spots on National Highways (NHs). Black spots are hazardous locations on NHs, identified based on fatal and grievous accidents occurring over three consecutive years.
Status of Black Spots on National Highways
- Total Identified Black Spots: 13,795 (as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – MoRTH).
- Persistent Challenges: Despite the Ministry’s commitment to reducing road fatalities, these hazardous zones continue to exist.
- The Ministry aims to reduce road fatalities by 95% by 2028.
Committees Proposals for rectification
- Three-Tier Prioritisation of Black Spots
- Severity – Frequency and impact of accidents.
- Complexity of Intervention Required – Engineering or administrative changes needed.
- Population Exposure – Number of road users affected.
- Rapid Response and Timely Rectification
- Category A (Highest risk black spots): Immediate intervention within 30 days of identification. Temporary safety measures should be deployed while permanent solutions are designed.
- Category B: Rectification within 90 days.
- Category C: Rectification within 180 days.
- Penalties should be imposed on implementing agencies for non-compliance with rectification deadlines.
- Short-Term vs Long-Term Rectification
- Short-term measures include road markings, signages, crash barriers, road studs, delineators, and traffic calming measures.
- Long-term solutions involve improvement of road geometrics, junction improvements, carriageway widening, construction of underpasses/overpasses.
- Accountability and Transparency Measures
- The committee recommends the development of a public dashboard displaying:
- Status of identified black spots.
- Rectification progress.
- Real-time updates on safety measures implemented.
- Mandatory post-implementation safety audits at 3-month and 12-month intervals to ensure effectiveness.
- The committee recommends the development of a public dashboard displaying:
Challenges in Implementation
- Lack of timely intervention despite identification of black spots.
- Delays in budget allocation and execution of corrective measures.
- Coordination issues between central and state agencies.
- Absence of penalties for agencies failing to meet deadlines.
Way Forward
- Institutional accountability with strict deadlines for action.
- Enforcement of penalties on agencies failing to meet rectification deadlines.
- Public monitoring mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability.
- Infrastructure improvements, including better road engineering, signage, and safety measures.
- Enhanced funding allocation for road safety initiatives.
