Lok Sabha Question No. 828 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-07
Subject: Road Accidents due to Potholes
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: RAKESH SINGH

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 828

ANSWERED  ON  7 th   FEBRUARY, 2019

## ROAD ACCIDENTS DUE TO POTHOLES

†828.  SHRI  RAKESH  SINGH:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the large number of deaths in road accidents due to potholes;
- (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government to deal with it;
- (c)  whether  any  compensation  is  given  to  the  families  of  the  deceased  in  road accidents due to potholes; and
- (d)  if  not,  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  give  compensation  for  such accidents?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI  MANSUKH  L. MANDAVIYA)

- (a) As  per  information  received  from  police  department  of  all  States/UTs    total number of road accidents, persons killed and injured on all roads  and under the category of  potholes in the country during the last  three  calendar  years  i.e. 2015  to 2017  are given at below:-
- (b) Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways  is  primarily  responsible  for  construction and maintenance of National Highways (NHs). All the implementing agencies of NH work are regularly instructed by this ministry to keep the highways in safe and traffic worthy condition  through  inspection  and  remedial  maintenance  as  per  the  requirements  within available resources.

|   Years | Total Number of road accidents in the country   |   Road Accidents under the category potholes | Total Number of persons killed in road accidents in the country   |   Persons killed under the category potholes | Total Number of persons injured in road accidents in the country   |   Persons injured under the category potholes |
|---------|-------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|    2015 | 5,01,423                                        |                                        10876 | 1,46,133                                                          |                                         3416 | 5,00,279                                                           |                                         10065 |
|    2016 | 4,80,652                                        |                                         6424 | 1,50,785                                                          |                                         2324 | 4,94,624                                                           |                                          6310 |
|    2017 | 4,64,910                                        |                                         9423 | 1,47,913                                                          |                                         3597 | 4,70,975                                                           |                                          8790 |

Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways  encourages  the  use  of  waster  plastic  in National  Highways  construction  etc.  especially  on  National  Highways  within  50  km periphery of urban areas having population 5 lakhs or more.

(c )  &  (d) Chapter  X  and  XI  of  the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988  deal  with  third-party insurance and payment of compensation in case of injury or death.The provisions provided in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 relating to compensation for the road accident victims are uniform  across  the  country.  The  Ministry  has  reviewed  the  compensation  amount  and substituted  Schedule-II  of  the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988  relating  to  compensation  amount under  section  163Avide  notification  S.O.  No.2022(E)  dated  22 nd   May,  2018.  As  per  the revised Schedule - II, compensation for :-

- (i)      Fatal Accidents: Compensation payable in case of Death shall be five lakh rupees.

(ii)   Accidents resulting in permanent disability : Compensation payable shall  be =  [Rs.5,00,000/-  X  percentage  disability  as  per Schedule I of the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923 (8 of 1923). Provided  that  the  minimum  compensation  in  case  of  permanent  disability  of any kind shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees.

- (iii)  Accidents resulting in minor injury : A  fixed compensation of twenty five thousand rupees shall be payable

Further, as per Section 165(1) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a State Government may, by  notification  in  the  official  Gazette,  constitute  one  or  more  Motor  Accidents  Claims Tribunals for such area as may be specified in the notification for the purpose of adjudicating upon claims for compensation in respect of accidents involving the death of, or bodily injury to, persons arising out of the use of motor vehicles, or damages to any property of the third party so arising, or both. Sub-section (2) of Section 165 empowers the State Government to appoint such number of members as the State Government may think fit to appoint. Subsection (3) of Section 165 empowers State Government to regulate distribution of business if there are two or more Claims Tribunals for an area. Thus, the matter regarding disposal of cases by Motor Accident Claims Tribunals comes under the jurisdiction of State Governments.   Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has inserted a provision in Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which inter-alia envisages the creation of a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund.

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