Lok Sabha Question No. 4579 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Tax Exemptions on Road Accident Compensation
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Rajmohan Unnithan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 4579

ANSWERED ON- 19 th  MARCH, 2026

## TAX EXEMPTIONS ON ROAD ACCIDENT COMPENSATION

4579 SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

## be pleased to state:

- (a) whether tax exemptions on road accident compensation have been implemented uniformly across States, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  progress  of  National Highway No. 66 (NH-66) expansion in southern Kerala, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether land acquisition delays continue to affect project timelines, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  expedite  highway  works  while ensuring fair compensation?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)    The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ('the Act') provides for compensation  to  victims  of  motor  vehicle  accidents. Section  165  of

the Act empowers State Government to constitute one or more Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals. Further, Section 168 empowers the Claim Tribunal to make an award determining the amount of compensation. An  application  for  compensation  may  be  filed  before  the  Claims Tribunal under Section 164 or Section 166 of the Act, as the case may be,  read  with  Rule  150A  and  Annexure  XIII  of  the  Central  Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. In  the  Union  Budget  of  2026-27,  it  was  announced  that  in  order  to alleviate  the  sufferings  of  victim  of  motor  vehicle  accident  and  their family,  it  is  proposed  that  any  interest  awarded  on  compensation amount in the case of individual, awarded by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) shall be exempted. Further, it is also proposed that in case  of  an  individual,  no  tax  shall  be  deducted  at  source  for  such interest, irrespective of the amount of interest awarded by MACT. In  this  regard,  vide  the  Finance  Bill,  2026,  amendments  have  been proposed  to  the  Income-tax  Act,  2025  and  these  amendments  shall take effect from 1st April, 2026 and shall accordingly apply to the tax year 2026-27 and subsequent years. (b) The detailed progress report of National Highway No. 66 expansion in Southern Kerala is enclosed in Annexure-A. (c)&(d) The Government has undertaken various initiatives to prevent recurrence of delays and cost escalations. These include streamlining and  expediting  land  acquisition  using  'Bhoomirashi'  portal  and  GISbased Land Acquisition Plan, revamping 'Parivesh' Portal, to facilitate faster  forest  and  environmental  clearances,  enabling  online  approval of General Arrangement of Drawings (GAD) of Road Over Bridge/Road Under Bridge (ROB/RUB), and leveraging the mechanism of review and resolution  of  bottlenecks  /  hindrances  in  ongoing  projects,  in  active collaboration  with  the  State  Governments  and  other  stakeholders. Government  has  also  launched  a  web  portal  for  Railway  related clearances with defined timelines for various approvals. The Government has put in place a strong framework using multiple mechanisms for monitoring project progress and contractor

inefficiencies.  Regular  review  meetings  are  conducted  at  various levels  with  stakeholders  to  assess  project  progress,  and  critical projects, such as those delayed by more than three years or pending for award / appointment. As a result, number of projects delayed by more than 3 years has come

## down from 152 in April' 2024 to 85 in February' 2026.

Annexure-A

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (b)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  4579  FOR  ANSWER  ON  19TH MARCH,  2026  ASKED  BY  SHRI  RAJMOHAN  UNNITHAN  REGARDING TAX EXEMPTIONS ON ROAD ACCIDENT COMPENSATION

|   Sr. No | Name of Project                                                                                                                                         |   Length (km) |   Physical progress (%) | Status   |
|----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|-------------------------|----------|
|        1 | Construction of 6 lane Elevated Corridor along with development of existing 4 lane road at ground level from Aroor to Thuravoor Thekku section of NH 66 |         12.75 |                      86 |          |
|        2 | 6 Laning of Thuravoor Thekku - Paravoor section of NH-66                                                                                                |         38.39 |                      73 |          |
|        3 | 6 laning of Paravoor to Kottukulangara section of NH 66                                                                                                 |         37.5  |                      74 |          |
|        4 | 6 laning of Kottukulangara to start of Kollam bypass section of NH 66                                                                                   |         31.5  |                      75 |          |
|        5 | 6 Laning of Start of Kollam Bypass to Kadambattukonam of NH-66 Pvt Ltd                                                                                  |         31.25 |                      90 |          |
|        6 | 6 Laning of Kadambattukonam to Kazhakuttom of NH-66                                                                                                     |         29.83 |                      47 | On-going |
|        7 | Rectification of 4 Nos. black spots/Accident Spots in Thiruvananthapuram Bypass section of NH-66                                                        |          2.42 |                      27 |          |

| 8.   | Four laning of Kazhakkoottam to Mukkola Section on NH-66                                                                                                                         | 24.99     | 100   |           |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-------|-----------|
| 9.   | Construction of New 4-Lane Elevated Highway (2x10.5m wide twin two lane structures) including approaches & service roads connecting Kazhakuttam Junction and Technopark Junction | 2.72      | 100   |           |
| 10.  | 4 Laning of Thiruvananthapuram Bypass from Mukkola to Kerala / Tamil Nadu Border                                                                                                 | 16.20     | 100   | Completed |
|      | GRAND TOTAL                                                                                                                                                                      | 227.55 Km |       |           |

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