Pillai rues delay in passage of road safety bill

Former Union Home Secretary G K Pillai today rued that parliamentarians were not according priority to the Road Transport and Safety Bill despite the rising number of road accident deaths.
He claimed some MPs had told him that the Road Transport and Safety Bill was not given priority as working for its passage "does not fetch them any vote".
Pillai, who is the Chairman of Data Security Council of India, said, "In spite of the fact that there are so many road accident deaths recorded, the bill did not figure among the bills that were given top priority during the Parliament sessions last year."

The former bureaucrat took part in a round-table discussion here on "the role of surveillance for a safe and secure India", organised by Smart Cities Council (SCC) and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
He said citizens' engagement in 'smart cities' was an essential part of the project.
"It is difficult to have a comprehensive plan for the whole country. Taking ideas from citizens and evolving in the process would be the right approach," Pillai said.

Critical elements of smart cities is to fulfil basic necessities like clean water and health care facilities, which the people expect irrespective of the advancements in the technology, he said.

Responding to a question on the eradication of slums in smart cities, Pillai pitched for development of villages and tier-3 locations to discourage migration of people to cities.
"Legislations for road safety, 'Swachh Bharat' (Clean India) and discouraging people from migration would take time, perhaps, changes will take place in the next generation," he said.