NEW DELHI: The ministry of road transport and highways on Monday constituted the much-awaited National Road Safety Board with retired bureaucrat U P Singh as its chairman.
“Today, I approved the constitution of the Board. Retired IAS officer U P Singh has been appointed Board’s chairman,” said Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways at this newspaper’s Delhi Dialogues, which is a monthly interaction with the power elite in Delhi.
An IITian and a 1985-batch IAS officer, Singh last served as secretary in the Union ministry of textiles.
In September 2021, the ministry had notified the constitution of the Board to formulate specific standards for road safety, traffic management, road construction and enhancing skill sets of the traffic police, hospitals and highway officials.
Speaking on road safety and accidents, Gadkari said it was the only area his ministry couldn’t get success in despite its best efforts. “In India, five lakh accidents are reported in a year in which 1.5 lakh lives are lost and three lakh people injured every year. And 60% of road accident deaths belong to the age group of 18-24 years. This we have not been able to control but are making efforts,” he said.