Soon,cashless treatment for highway mishap victims

Under the scheme,the ministry ,with support of an insurance company,will provide cashless treatment facility to accident victims at hospitals empanelled by the concessionaire associated with the development and maintenance of the national highway stretch concerned.

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Jitin Prasada today said in Lucknow that cashless treatment facility would be first implemented on Amritsar-Pathankot stretch.

“The scheme will further be implemented in other parts of the country,” the ministers said. The minister was here to dedicate the Lucknow bypass project to public. The 22.857-km four-lane project has been completed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in 11 years. The minister said the Lucknow bypass will reduce traffic congestion in Lucknow city as the traffic going towards Rae Bareli,Faizabad,Sultanpur and Kanpur will not have to enter the city area.

Sources said the implementation of cashless treatment scheme is being supervised by Joint Secretary in the ministry Nitin Ramesh Gokran. The concessionaire of the highway project will have the responsibility to take the accident victim to nearby empanelled hospital and inform the authorities of the insurance company and NHAI. The patient would be provided treatment there and if he is not able to pay the bills,the insurance company will make the payment. The concessionaire will be asked to deploy ambulances and patrolling vans on the stretch. Officials said that maximum casualties in road accidents have been reported in Punjab and UP.