Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced the “Cashless Treatment” scheme, under which the government will cover expenses of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for seven days of treatment for road accident victims.
Gadkari stated that the government would bear the cost of treatment if the police are informed about the accident within 24 hours.
The Union Minister also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs two lakh for the families of deceased victims in hit-and-run cases.
“We have started a new scheme – Cashless Treatment. Immediately after an accident occurs, within 24 hours, when the information goes to the Police, we will provide expenses for seven-day treatment of the patient who gets admitted or a maximum of up to Rs 1.5 Lakhs for treatment. We will also provide Rs two lakh for the deceased in hit-and-run cases,” said the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways.
He also underlined that the government’s top priority is road safety, citing the alarming statistic that nearly 1.80 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents in 2024. Of these, 30,000 fatalities were due to not wearing helmets, Gadkari added.
“In the meeting, the first priority is for road safety and in the year 2024, 1.80 lakh deaths have occurred in road safety. 30,000 people have died because of not wearing helmets. The second serious thing is that 66% of accidents have occurred in people between the ages of 18 to 34,” Gadkari added.
Gadkari further highlighted the deaths of 10,000 children in road accidents caused by inadequate arrangements at entry and exit points near educational institutions, such as schools and colleges.
“10,000 children have died due to a lack of proper arrangement at the exit-entry point in front of our schools and colleges. Rules have also been made for the autorickshaws and minibuses for schools as there have been significant number of deaths due to this. After identifying all the black spots, everyone decided together that we would try to reduce it,” he said.
The announcement followed a meeting chaired by Gadkari with Transport Ministers from all states and union territories at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on Tuesday.
The meeting aimed to facilitate collaborative efforts between the union and state governments and to discuss transportation-related policies. (ANI)