SaveLIFE Foundation, in collaboration with the Transport Department,
Government of Uttar Pradesh organized an expert consultation on 10 th
February 2021 on two crucial road safety provisions under the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Act, 2019 providing the rulemaking power to the State
Government at Transport Department Office in Lucknow.
The consultation with high-level experts and stakeholders looked into standards
for road design, construction & maintenance, regulation and access of non-
motorized transport with a view to improve road safety and reduce road
crashes in Uttar Pradesh.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act under Section 198A holds road
contractors and concessionaires accountable for faulty road design and non-
maintenance of roads leading to deaths & disability. Section 210 D gives the
power to the State Government to make rules for design, construction and
maintenance standards for roads under its jurisdiction. Infrastructural flaws
such as potholes, on-going road works/ under construction sites have
contributed to 2,892 deaths in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 alone.The creation of such
a rule will ensure an accountability framework besides improving the quality of
the roads.
Further, Section 138 (1A) of MVAA’19 gives the power to State Governments to
regulate the activities of pedestrians and non-motorized road users in a public
place. In 2019, 4,676 pedestrians and NMT users lost their lives due to road
crashes in Uttar Pradesh. Regulation of activities in a public place of
pedestrians and non-motorized road users could include the creation of special
zones such as cycle tracks and footpaths, NMT lanes etc., which could all be
interpreted as regulation of such activities.
The event was chaired by Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi – Additional Chief
Secretary Home & CEO UPEIDA and was also attended by Shri Rajesh Kumar
Singh- Principal Secretary Transport Department, Shri Dheeraj Sahu –
Transport Commissioner, ADG Traffic- Ashok Kumar Singh and Ms. Khyati
Ghosh-DCP Traffic, and other officials from the PWD Department. Professors
from IIT Kanpur & Roorkee, officials from NACTO and World Bank also
participated in the event and offered their suggestions on the draft rules. As a
next step, the State Government is planning on holding a wrap up meeting with
stakeholders to finalize the draft notifications with regard to the two provisions.