The Supreme Court of India is worried about road safety. They said on Monday that many people are dying in road accidents because the government is slow in creating a special health plan to help accident victims.
Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan were upset that the government did not follow their order from January 8 to make a quick cashless medical treatment scheme for those hurt in accidents. They pointed out that since a new law started on April 1, 2022, the government had three years to create this scheme but still had not done so.
The judges expressed their anger, asking, “What will you do to fix this? People are constructing big highways, but they are dying because there are no medical facilities available.” They emphasized that quick medical help during the “golden hour,” which is the first hour after an injury, is essential to save lives.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport acknowledged that they had a plan but faced problems because of the General Insurance Council (GIC), which raised concerns about checking insurance policies for the vehicles involved in accidents.
The court was told that a new plan would be ready within a week. They want to see this plan by May 9, and they will check back on May 13. The Supreme Court has said that providing quick medical care is important and delays can lead to unnecessary deaths. They reminded the government that they have a duty to protect people’s right to life, which is guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Supreme Court also highlighted that even though the law requires insurance companies to help accident victims right away, the government had not yet put this into action. The proposed plan mentioned a limit of ₹1.5 lakh for treatment but didn’t cover the complete needs of the victims.
They also learned that many claims for hit-and-run accidents were pending because of missing documents. The court called on the GIC to help fix this problem.
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