1. The New Rules
Bihar will be the first state to simplify claims of road traffic accident (RTA) by removing the victim or their dependents from the litigation process and paying them an interim ex-gratia amount of ₹5 lakh within 15 days in event of death. The new rules allow immediate payment of ₹5 lakh as interim compensation for death and ₹50,000 for grievous injury to dependents or victims of road traffic accidents, involving vehicles that are insured, uninsured or involved in a hit-and-run case. The state may even take the onus to contest the case in court docket, on behalf of the sufferer, if the insurance coverage agency of the accused car proprietor, decides to problem the order.
2. Date of Implementation
Come September 15, the state will implement the new amendment to the Bihar Motor Vehicle Rules that empowers the state transport appellate tribunal to settle all such accident claims within 60 days.
The new amendment was notified in the Bihar Gazette on August 11 after a cabinet order.
3. Grevious Injury
The compensation for grievous injury is proposed to be increased from ₹50,000 to ₹2.5 lakh.
4. First of its Kind Initiative
“This is the first of its kind initiative in India to simplify accident claims,” stated Bihar’s transport secretary, Sanjay Kumar Agarwal.
5. Corpus creation
The State has set a revolving corpus of ₹50 crores under the Bihar motor vehicle accident assistance fund through which such payments will be made.
6. Insured autos
In the case of insured autos, the state can pay the compensation to the sufferer or their dependents by way of the corpus fund and get better the quantity from the insurance coverage agency after the tribunal settles the case within the stipulated 60 days.
7. Uninsured Autos
For uninsured autos, the state will get a better compensation quantity by auctioning the car if its car proprietor is unable to pay the compensation to the sufferer’s household. Should the quantity realised by way of public sale be lower than the compensation mounted, the state will bear the distinction quantity by way of the Bihar motorcar accident help fund.
8. Issue of Non-renewal of Insurance cover
Nearly 20% of the 13.60 lakh registered autos within the state until 2019-20 don’t renew their insurance coverage. The government has stated that “We will start a special drive to check for insurance of motor vehicles soon” he added.
9. Hit and run cases
For hit-and-run cases, the compensation quantity shall be borne by way of the corpus fund and replenished partially by the Centre and the state authorities.
10. New officers to monitor accident claim and evaluation
Under the modified guidelines, all sub-divisional officers (SDO) would be the accident declare inquiry officer and district magistrates (DM) the accident claims evaluation officer. The SDO conducts the inquiry on the premise of web site inspection finished by the police.
“The changed rules do not mandate any site inspection or examination of witnesses at the trial stage. If challenged, the case will be adjudicated on the basis of a summary trial based on the petition of the victim or their relatives, deposition by the insurance firm and reports by the police, the SDO and DM,”.
In case the tribunal or the next court docket awards the next compensation, the distinction of the quantity already paid as interim compensation could be credited into the checking account of the sufferer’s household. In case of an adversarial order for the federal government, the interim quantity already paid as compensation to the household of the sufferer is not going to be taken again however adjusted by way of the Bihar motorcar accident help fund.
Bihar ranks fifteenth in India when it comes to road accidents and ninth when it comes to fatalities arising out of them, as per the newest knowledge launched by the ministry of road transport and Highway (MoRT&H) in 2019.
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are amongst the states which rank increased than Bihar each when it comes to the variety of road accidents and deaths.
Image: Newslaundary
