Rs 14,000 cr to be spent to cut road accidents says Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari said that the government is ready to invest around 14,000 cr rupees to decrease the number of road accidents

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the government is ready with a plan to invest Rs 14,000 crore on black spots on National Highways to reduce road accidents and save lives.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, the Minister said the step was being taken after an experiment in Tamil Nadu where he claimed the percentage of road accidents had fallen by 15 per cent.

"It has happened only in Tamil Nadu and it is really one of the success stories," Gadkari said.

"On the basis of the experiment in Tamil Nadu, we have prepared a DPR (Detailed Project Report) worth Rs 14,000 crore identifying the black spots on National Highways and assessed the underpasses and bridges required," he said.

The Minister said that his department had submitted the data to the Finance Ministry and they had accepted it in principle.

"It will now go to the World Bank... It is the highest sensitive subject for the government."

Gadkari said the success ratio was not satisfactory despite attempts to stop road accidents for the last five years. "The accidents have reduced only by 1.5 percent to 2 percent."

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