Schemes worth Rs 14,000 cr afoot to remove black spots from roads: Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the Centre was working on Rs 14,000 crore schemes with the assistance of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to remove "black spots" from roads which were vulnerable to accidents.

Answering queries during question hour in Lok Sabha, Gadkari stated "black spots" will be identified on different roads including national highways, state highways and municipal roads.

He said that the ministry had given Rs 7,000 crore project to World Bank and Rs 7000 crore scheme to Asian Development Bank and added that India witnesses the highest number of deaths in road accidents in the world while there were countries with near-zero accidents.

The Union minister also stated that the government will conduct an audit for reasons of accidents and changes were needed across several sectors.

He said as part of preventive measures, barriers were being erected along the river in Himachal Pradesh so that in case of an accident, the bus does not plunge in the water.

The minister said National Highway Accident Relief Scheme was valid till 2017 and ambulances were being provided with the money of NHAI.

He also added that the ambulances have been stationed at toll plazas which have three stretchers and cutting equipments.

Answering another query, Gadkari stated that there is a delay in the arbitration process and the Centre is keen on time-bound decisions.

"We have decided to send advisory that whatever decision, take it in four months," he said.

The Union Minister said sometimes decisions are delayed in the arbitration process to bring the government official and contractor on the same page.

He further stated that the recommendation in the arbitration process should be made at the earliest and the government is "serious" about the issue.