Centre plans ambulances for states with 10-minute rule; Gadkari admits lapses

New Delhi, Dec 17: Expressing concern over the high number of fatalities in road accidents, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari ,on Wednesday, said the Centre plans to provide states with modern ambulances, with the condition that they must reach accident sites within 10 minutes.

Replying to supplementary questions during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Gadkari said the ambulances would be equipped with specialised tools to evacuate victims from accident spots.

He also said states have been advised to adopt a common helpline number for ambulance services. “The Centre is ready to provide 100 to 150 ambulances, which states can operate within their own systems,” he said.

Clarifying the Centre’s role, Gadkari said it was not the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) responsibility to manage ambulance services.

“We have decided to sign memoranda of understanding with states on a kilometre basis. Under this, we will provide good-quality ambulances to each state, but our condition is that ambulances must reach accident sites within 10 minutes,” he said.

The Minister acknowledged that despite several initiatives, the government has not succeeded in significantly reducing road accident deaths.

He was responding to a question by senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, who sought details on road safety measures while referring to a recent accident on the Yamuna Expressway on December 16 that killed 13 people.

“In our country, there are about 5 lakh road accidents every year, resulting in nearly 1.8 lakh deaths. This is terrible. We are trying hard to reduce fatalities, but we have not been successful,” Gadkari said. He added that nearly 66% of those killed fall in the 18–34 age group.

Gadkari said the government has taken steps such as improving road engineering, tightening enforcement and increasing penalties for traffic violations.

However, he noted that human behaviour remains a major challenge and stressed the importance of following traffic rules.

He also underlined the importance of timely medical response, citing a study by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) which found that nearly 50,000 lives could have been saved with immediate medical attention.

Based on the study, Gadkari said the government has decided to honour those who help accident victims by designating them as “Raahveers” and awarding them a cash reward of Rs 25,000 each.

PTI