Tripura has recorded an approximately 13 per cent decline in road accidents despite a sharp rise in the number of registered vehicles, Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said on Tuesday while inaugurating a state-level workshop on the Motor Vehicles Act and Associated Rules at Pragna Bhavan.
Highlighting the state government's efforts to improve road safety and emergency response, the minister said the recently launched PM RAHAT scheme has modernized the earlier Good Samaritan policy. Under the scheme, any person who rescues a road accident victim and ensures the victim is taken to a hospital will receive a reward of Rs 25,000 from the Transport Department. The scheme also provides immediate cashless treatment for accident victims, he said.
The workshop, organized jointly by the Transport Department, SIPARD and the AD Nagar School of Logistics, Communication and Waterways, brought together officials from the Transport and Home departments along with representatives from various states. Discussions focused on the Motor Vehicles Act, road safety measures, the e-challan system, traffic management, law enforcement mechanisms and related rules and regulations.
Addressing the gathering, Chowdhury said rescuers under the PM RAHAT scheme would not be subjected to police questioning or legal complications. He noted that although the number of registered vehicles in Tripura has doubled from around four lakh to eight lakh, the road accident rate has declined by nearly 13 per cent.
The minister said the government has deployed 16 advanced life-saving ambulances and modern traffic interceptor vehicles across major highways and accident-prone stretches to ensure quicker emergency response. He also directed authorities to organize awareness programmes in every district to extend the benefits of the PM RAHAT scheme to remote areas, with active participation from district administrations, police and Panchayati Raj institutions.
Speaking at the workshop, State Police IGP Manchak Ippar said nearly 70,000 driving licences have been confiscated in Tripura over the past three years, while several thousand licences were temporarily suspended for serious traffic violations. He said 2,763 licences were confiscated in 2023, the figure rose to 33,990 in 2024, and 25,000 more were confiscated the following year. So far this year, authorities have confiscated more than 11,000 licences and suspended over 3,000.
The IGP further said that, in addition to confiscating driving licences, authorities would place greater emphasis on permanently cancelling vehicle registrations and licences in cases involving serious violations of road safety laws. He stressed the need for regular training of enforcement officials to strengthen implementation of legal provisions and traffic regulations. Representatives from various states participated in and spoke at the workshop.