NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry is working on a proposal for formulation of National Highways Security Policy as well as creation of State Highway Police in all states.
The State Highway Police, envisaged to have dedicated jurisdiction on the lines of Government Railway Police and Coastal Police, will be responsible for enforcing traffic discipline and investigating accident cases.
The highways policy, to be formulated on the lines of National Road Safety Policy, will lay the roadmap for securing the national highways.
The MHA will also constitute a Working Group on Highway Safety — comprising Director Generals of Police (one each from five regional centres) and representatives from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Union Home Ministry — to evolve an action plan and its implementation within a year. The working group will also be instrumental in shaping up the National Highways Security Policy.
The move comes in the backdrop of a major push being given for creation of road infrastructure as well as the creation of 100 smart cities, which will be connected to the national highways.
“Setting up of e-surveillance of the highways through a network of CCTV cameras that will also be linked to the Dial-100 facilities is also being mulled as part of the security architecture of the highways. Once the working group is constituted, it will submit its report in three months,” a senior MHA official said.
Once the proposal for creation of the State Highway Police is approved, a funding mechanism will also be worked out to support the initiative by the state governments. The Centre had earlier funded the setting up of Coastal Police Stations as well as acquisition of related paraphernalia.