New Delhi: Drunk driving led to 8,355 road accidents, while driving on the wrong side caused 20,228 mishaps during the calendar year 2020, Parliament was informed Wednesday.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said a total of 3,66,138 road accidents occurred in India during 2020.
Gadkari said that while jumping red light led to 2,721 accidents, the use of mobile phones while driving caused 6,753 accidents.
According to the minister, a total of 62,738 accidents occurred due to other reasons.
Gadkari said challans issued for drunken driving in 2021 and 2020 stood at 48,144 and 56,204, respectively.
According to the minister, Uttar Pradesh (Rs 447 crore) has collected the highest revenue through the new law and stricter penalties, followed by Haryana (Rs 326 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 267 crore) and Bihar (Rs 258 crore) during the calendar year 2021.
The total quantum of user fee collection generated from the toll plazas of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in 2020-21 and 2021-22 (up to December 2021) were respectively Rs 27,744 crore and Rs 24,989 crore.
Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said that under the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy, 2015, 244.68 lakh plants have been planted up to December 2021 across 869 national highways projects having a length of 51,178 km.
To a query, Gadkari added that the government earned Rs 1,636 crore by issuance of national permits in 2020-21.
The New National Permit System has been made effective under Section 88(14) of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, with notification dated May 7, 2010.
The composite fee collected under this regime is re-distributed among states/ UTs on a pro-rata basis as per the notified formula.
Gadkari also said 9,000-km economic corridors have been envisaged for the implementation under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I.
Out of this, projects comprising a length of 6,087 km have been approved/ awarded and the remaining length is planned for award in the next two financial years, he added.
As of now, the minister said the length of 1,613 km has been completed and the balance length is targeted for completion by the year 2026-27.
PTI
