Gurgaon, August 31: One hundred people who died in 1,696 accidents on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway since January 23, 2008 are anonymous entities for both the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the concessionaire firm, DSC Limited. Which means that if they are asked to pay compensation as a result of an ongoing case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court – in which both are party – there is no way they can trace the victims.
In response to an RTI query, NHAI has admitted that it has no details of the people who died in accidents on the expressway. The RTI was filed by Delhi -based businessman K S Anand who lost his son on the expressway in March this year. DSC says it has been regularly filing accident reports, but keeping personal contact details on victims is not its duty. Despite repeated attempts, V K Rehjawat, NHAI’s general manager and Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway project director, was not available for comments.
DSC officials said they had been following the norms prescribed in the concession agreement and sending the accident reports on time. “Keeping the victims’ contact details is the police department’s responsibility, not ours,” said N D Mehra, director, Delhi Gurgaon Superconnectivity Ltd, a subsidiary of DSC.
The concession agreement says: “As soon as practicable and in any event no later than 7 days following the occurrence of any accident on the project highway involving a fatality or serious personal injury or substantial property damage, the concessionaire shall investigate the circumstances of such accident and submit to NHAI and independent consultant a report setting out details of such accident.”
Anand had also sought to know whether the concessionaire firm informs police about the accidents on the stretch. Responding to this, NHAI had said that when a death takes place in the accidents, police is always informed but in other cases it depends on the seriousness of the accident.
In reply to a query about whether any panel or committee was formed to check the loopholes that resulted in the accidents, the reply admits that no specific panel or committee was formed. “However NHAI and the concessionaire have been continuously taking up the matter with the district administration for providing necessary police assistance to enforce traffic discipline,” it continues.
On another query on whether the concessionaire has a tie-up with a hospital to take victims to in case of an accident, NHAI has said that victims have been taken to Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, Civil Hospital, Gurgaon, Paras Hospital, Pushpanjali Hospital and Kalyani Hospital.
Anand had also wanted to know that as per concession agreement, how many foot over bridges, under pass and ambulances had to be provided on the stretch. Replying to this, NHAI has said that concession agreement provided originally 2 underpasses at South City and Jharsa. “In the Concession Agreement there is no mention of the number of the ambulances required to be deployed by the concessionaire, however, the concessionaire has to ensure sufficient staff, plant, equipment and material including without limitation to respond to emergencies at all times during concession period.”
—Agencies