
Maharashtra forms civic committees to fix black spots on roads
Why is it in news?
- Roads within the limits of urban local bodies in Maharashtra will undergo an annual safety audit as per the standards set by the Indian Road Congress in a bid to prevent accidents.
- It will also be examined twice a year to ensure safety.
- Following the directions given by the Supreme Court, a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Justice (retd.) Radhakrishnan was set up.
- The panel had appointed the Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transport System (DIMTS) to suggest measures to be taken for road safety through a scientific study.
Mandate of committee?
- As the recommendations of the DIMTS were accepted by the committee, the State government has now decided to implement them by forming a panel at the municipal corporation and municipal council levels.
- While the municipal commissioner will be heading the committee in the corporation, the collector will be in charge of the panel in the latter.
- These committees will include officials from the traffic police, transport, and the public works department, as well as experts from local engineering colleges.
- According to the Road Accidents in India - 2017 report prepared by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, four cities — Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur — feature in the top 50 cities.
- The committees will be tasked to recommend measures which need to be taken to fix black spots on city roads.
- Black spot is a place where maximum number of accidents occur.
- The committees will have to take a quarterly progress report of the road safety audit.
- They will have to make suggestions and take action on securing black spots.
- An action-taken report needs to be submitted to the government.
Source
The Hindu