Chief Secy reviews implementation of Road Safety Action Plan across J&K

Srinagar, Oct 5: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Monday chaired a high-level meeting to take comprehensive stock of the Road Safety Action Plan, accident data, i-RAD, black spot rectification, trauma care, digital enforcement and other road safety interventions across the Union Territory.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, PWD; Principal Secretary, Home; Secretary, Transport Department; Inspector General of Police, Traffic; Transport Commissioner; Representatives from BRO; NHAI; NHIDCL and other concerned senior officers.
The Chief Secretary directed all the executing agencies to accord top priority to the time-bound rectification of identified black spots and hazardous stretches, stressing that every identified engineering deficiency should be addressed through short- and long-term corrective measures.
He also enjoined upon all concerned to maintain sustained momentum on road safety interventions and ensure that identified deficiencies are not allowed to persist.
Dulloo called upon all District Road Safety Committees (DRSCs), chaired by the respective District Magistrates, to meet mandatorily every month, closely monitor the i-RAD real-time accident dashboards, review accident-prone locations and ensure prompt rectification of residual infrastructure hazards.
Reviewing the key performance indicators, the Chief Secretary was informed by the Secretary, Transport Department, Avny Lavasa that concerted multi-departmental interventions have resulted in a significant decline in road fatalities revealing that against 1,090 fatalities recorded in 2024, the number has come down to 756 up to mid-September 2026, indicating steady progress towards the targets of restricting fatalities to 600 or below by 2027 and 450 by 2030.
Moreover it was further divulged that the total number of road accidents has also declined, with 4,222 accidents recorded during the current period against the 2024 baseline of 5,808.
The meeting was further apprised that 367 black spots have been identified by the Transport Commissioner, of which 165 have been audited by central agencies and 68 hotspots have already been completely rectified.
Similarly under the Road Safety Fund, a comprehensive audit of 1,433 roads has also been completed, with Rs 11.60 crore released to 15 districts for immediate corrective interventions.
Emphasising the need to make roads safer for vulnerable road users, the meeting was informed that Municipal Corporations have constructed 135.85 km of footpaths and cycle tracks, including 39.58 km by Jammu Municipal Corporation and 96 km by Srinagar Municipal Corporation. As many as 398 encroachment clearance drives have also been undertaken.
Giving special emphasis to the critical Golden Hour in saving accident victims, the Chief Secretary reviewed the findings of the first comprehensive UT-wide audit of 15 Level-III Trauma Centres, comprising eight in Jammu and seven in Kashmir.
The Health and Medical Education Department has prepared a blueprint too for upgrading these centres, including provision for additional manpower and advanced medical equipment, aimed at strengthening emergency response and trauma care facilities across J&K.
The meeting was also informed that 906 road accident victims have so far availed cashless treatment under the PM-RAHAT and Rah-Veer schemes.
The Transport Department has further issued necessary orders, providing one-time token tax exemption for the registration and operationalisation of state-owned ambulances.
The meeting also reviewed the expanding use of technology for traffic enforcement and road safety. Enforcement agencies have issued 10.39 lakh e-challans during the current year, marking a significant shift towards technology-enabled enforcement and reducing dependence on manual checks.
To extend technology-based traffic management to rural areas, a DPR for Rural ITMS has been prepared, covering 2,144 digital devices across 25 critical corridors and 195 rural junctions.
The meeting was informed that four Traffic Control Units are presently functional at Srinagar, Jammu, Ramban and Udhampur, while 13 additional sites are under revenue mutation for further expansion.
Reviewing capacity-building initiatives, the Chief Secretary was informed that the infrastructure of the Institute of Driver Training and Research (IDTR), Kot Bhalwal, Jammu, has been completed. Additionally under the government-approved partnership with Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the institute is scheduled to commence operations from next month with a 45-day commercial driving training curriculum to be started there.
The meeting noted that around 116 % increase in mass awareness campaigns, which have risen to 4,509 during 2026, underscoring the importance of sustained public awareness alongside enforcement and engineering interventions.
The meeting was also apprised that in a significant compliance measure, the Transport Commissioner has engaged oil marketing companies for implementation of the “No Helmet, No Fuel” directive for two-wheelers.
The Chief Secretary was informed that manual vehicle fitness testing has been discontinued in key districts with the introduction of Automated Testing Stations (ATS) in Jammu and Samba. As many as 23 additional applications from private investors are under process for establishing such facilities.
Simultaneously, nine Consent Letters have been issued through the National Single Window System for setting up Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs), paving the way for systematic removal of end-of-life vehicles from J&K roads.
Concluding the Chief Secretary stressed the need for moving beyond isolated interventions towards a data-driven, coordinated and outcome-oriented road safety framework, with the ultimate objective of developing zero-casualty corridors across Jammu & Kashmir.