DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Thursday laid stress on a multi-pronged strategy to enhance road safety, besides a zero-tolerance approach to traffic violations. Bhullar, who presided over the 15th meeting of the Punjab State Road Safety Council, also announced mandatory monthly review meetings to assess departmental performance, according to an official statement.

The minister expressed dissatisfaction over the action taken reports (ATRs) of various departments, saying, "If any deficiency is found in ATRs of any department during the monthly meeting and the department does not meet the set target, then strict action will be taken against the officials concerned."

The health department has been specifically directed to address staff shortages in trauma centres and ensure the availability of comprehensive medical equipment to maximise survival rates of road accident victims, the statement said.

The transport department has decided to launch a pilot CCTV surveillance project in five high-risk districts -- Patiala, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, SBS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib.

This project will be progressively expanded across Punjab, the minister said and added that an online challan system similar to that in Chandigarh should be considered to efficiently penalise traffic violations.

The minister also approved the release of Rs 55 crore for the Sadak Surakhiya Force, which has been equipped with 144 highway patrol vehicles.

Preliminary assessments indicate a remarkable 45.5 per cent reduction in road accident mortality rates since the force's inception. An additional Rs 7 crore has been sanctioned for the force to procure electronic equipment, the statement said.

On Bhullar's suggestion, a decision on independent third-party audit of all rectified black spots in the state was been taken, it added.

An independent agency dealing with the road safety matters such the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre of IIT-Delhi, road safety auditors empanelled with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India will be engaged to conduct an independent third-party audit of all rectified black spots to measure the outcome and effectiveness of the rectification exercise.

Bhullar said the third-party audit of rectified black spots and also evaluation of the identification methods and processes were required to measure the outcome and whether the rectification exercise had achieved the desired result.

(editor@dailyworld.in)