Haryana introduces free cashless treatment for road accident victims
Following the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Haryana Police have launched a new initiative under which accident victims will receive free treatment in the initial hour. Under this scheme, treatment up to Rs 1.5 lakh per person per road accident is provided free of cost for a maximum period of 7 days from the date of the accident. In this regard, Additional Director General of Police Hardeep Doon has written a letter to all the officials concerned asking them to ensure compliance.
Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur said making the state's roads safe for the common man was a priority. “Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a better and more effective action plan to reduce road accidents. In the same series, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has started providing free treatment facilities to road accident victims.”
He said the pilot project would be implemented jointly by the National Health Authority in coordination with the local police and hospitals contracted by the state’s health department. During this, the accident victim will be provided free treatment up to a limit of Rs 1.5 lakh for a maximum of 7 days under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Under this scheme, the road accident victim is taken to the hospital. After this, the hospital management uploads the data of the injured person in their software and sends it to the police station concerned, after which the police station confirms, within 6 hours, whether the injured person was injured in a road accident or not. After confirmation, the injured person is provided cashless treatment.
Kapur said black spots have also been identified in the state where incidents of accidents are relatively high. “These black spots are rectified by coordinating with the road engineering departments. In view of the seriousness of the subject of road safety, road safety committees have been formed in different districts of the state, through which regular meetings are held on the agenda of road safety.”
Kapur said in 2024, the road safety committee checked 19,261 school buses, out of which 4,657 school buses were challaned for irregularities. He added that there were currently 66 toll plazas in the state on which weigh-in-motion machines were installed at 54 plazas, and 29 of these were being used to challan overloaded vehicles.
