The Haryana government has extended its collaboration with IIT-Madras by signing a two-year MoU for data-driven road safety interventions.

The agreement was unveiled in the presence of Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi and Prof Venkatesh Balasubramanian, Head of the Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) at IIT-Madras, here on Thursday.

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The partnership leverages tools like the ‘Sanjaya’ platform, previously launched in Haryana, to visualize accident data and plan targeted interventions.

Additional Chief Secretary, Transport Department, Ashok Khemka, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Sudhir Rajpal, Transport Commissioner Dusmanta Kumar Behera and senior officers of various departments were present on the occasion.

During a meeting on road safety measures, Rastogi called for the formation of a working group to implement actionable strategies, emphasizing the need to save lives lost in road accidents.

He directed the Transport and Health Departments to develop a detailed roadmap for upgrading trauma centers, particularly near highways, to improve emergency response.

The meeting was informed that due to safety measures implemented by the government, there was a declining trend in the number of road accident fatalities in Haryana since 2022 and the major cause for these deaths was found to be overspeeding.

To address this, the government is enhancing monitoring and e-challaning through CCTV cameras on major highways.

Rastogi stressed the importance of swift hospital transfers for accident victims and better coordination among police, medical, and transport departments.

The discussion highlighted the ‘5 Es’ of road safety—Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Care, and Empathy—as critical pillars for reducing fatalities. Key strategies include fostering behavioral change, leveraging technology, and enhancing training for police.

The government has started a policy of cashless treatment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for seven days for road accident victims, if the police are informed within 24 hours of the accident.