PANAJI
The Goa government has informed the Supreme Court that it has put in place a district-level highway safety mechanism across the State in compliance with the apex court’s directions issued after a series of fatal road accidents pointed to failures in highway safety.
In its compliance report, the Transport Department said District Collectors across Goa have constituted District Highway Safety Task Force Committees and framed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as mandated by the SC. It also submitted that District Highway Safety Inspection Teams have been set up. At the same time, the Superintendents of Police of North and South Goa have constituted dedicated highway surveillance teams for regular monitoring and enforcement.
The compliance follows sweeping interim directions issued by the Court in a suo motu case initiated after two devastating highway accidents in Rajasthan and Telangana in November 2025 claimed 34 lives. Taking note of ‘systemic negligence and infrastructure failures’ as described by the Bench, it directed States and highway authorities to introduce a series of time-bound safety measures to prevent avoidable deaths on National Highways.
Among the important directions, the court ordered that every district through which a National Highway passes constitute a District Highway Safety Task Force comprising officials from the district administration, police, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Public Works Department, and local bodies. The task force has been asked to hold fortnightly review meetings, while District Collectors and Superintendents of Police have been made jointly responsible for ensuring timely removal of encroachments and improving highway safety.
The States were also asked to deploy dedicated highway surveillance teams, strengthen patrolling, operationalise Advanced Traffic Management Systems, identify accident blackspots, prohibit unauthorised parking on highways, improve emergency response infrastructure and ensure the development of truck lay-bys and wayside amenities.
Stressing that road safety is an integral part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court observed that National Highways account for nearly 30 per cent of road fatalities despite making up only around two per cent of the country’s road network.
The matter is expected to come up for hearing on August 3.
