Safely set aside

Setting up road safety boards at the national and state levels became a matter of huge debate at a recent meeting of the Committee of Secretaries. Despite all the public debate on the urgent need for a road safety system over one lakh people die in road accidents every year in India the Cabinet Secretary was not convinced of the need to invest big amounts. He was of the view that the Ministry of Roads 038; Transport could have a cell to look after this. And as it happens in all babu debates, it all boiled down to funds. He wanted the ministry to work from available plan allocation and take nothing from the money collected through cess. In the event, he did relent ultimately, but in the din of the debate, the matter that started the discussion8212;road safety8212;suffered a quiet humiliation.