Nitin Gadkari blames faulty DPRs, road design for rising road accidents in India

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said faulty detailed project reports (DPRs) and faulty road design prepared by civil engineers and consultants are responsible for increasing road accidents and fatalities in India.

Addressing Global Road Infratech Summit & Expo (GRIS), Gadkari highlighted the urgent need for improving road safety measures, strengthening law enforcement mechanism and enhancing emergency medical services on national highways.

"Most road accidents happen in the country due to small civil mistakes and faulty DPRs, and nobody is held accountable," Gadkari said.


The minister also called upon the road construction industry to develop strategies to enhance road safety by adopting newer technologies and sustainable recyclable construction materials.

Even small things like the road signage and marking system are very poor in India, he said, adding India needs to learn from countries like Spain, Austria and Switzerland on ways to improve signage and marking systems and make them world-class.

Pointing out that worst quality DPRs are made in India, Gadkari said the main problem is road engineering, defective planning and defective DPRs.

According to the minister, 180,000 people died in the country due to road accidents in 2023. "Road accidents contributed to an economic growth loss of 3% of GDP," he said, adding the government aims to reduce road accident rates by 50% by 2030.

Gadkari urged the industry and government to collaborate on solutions to prevent road accidents, emphasising the importance of education in building safer infrastructure and promoting safer driving habits.