6 months ago
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The latest roadworthy mishap successful which a lorry — reportedly driving connected the incorrect broadside of the roadworthy — crashing into a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) autobus carrying respective passengers that led to astatine slightest 19 deaths, has laid bare the interest of transparency and sharing data.
Data sought nether the Right to Information Act (RTI) connected to the fig of roadworthy accidents successful which TGSRTC buses were progressive elicited a unusual effect from the authorities roadworthy transport undertaking: “It is regretted to explicit our inability to supply accusation arsenic sought successful the application.”
The TGSRTC cited an bid of the Supreme Court successful the CBSE Vs Aditya Bandopadhyaya lawsuit successful which the ruling, per the transport behemoth, was that “where the accusation sought is not a portion of the grounds of a nationalist authorization and wherever specified accusation is not required to beryllium maintained nether immoderate instrumentality oregon the rules and regulations of nationalist authority, the Act does not formed an work upon the nationalist authorization to cod oregon collate specified non-available accusation and furnish it to the applicant. A nationalist authorization is not required to furnish accusation which necessitate drafting of inferences and/or making of assumptions.”
“The reply is dated October 24, 2025. I had sought accusation connected the fig of accidents successful which TGSRTC buses were involved. I had simply suggested a format successful which yearly information beryllium provided on with fig of accidents, fig of fatalities, injuries, among different aspects specified arsenic the destiny of victims. If the different details were not available, upholding the tone of the Act was important. Just the accusation astir the fig of accidents each twelvemonth could person been supplied,” said applicant Kareem Ansari, who filed the plea.
Interestingly, successful 2022, erstwhile RTC Board Director M. Nagesgwar Rao obtained akin details done RTI Act. The state-run corp had said that from 2017-18 to 2020-21, its buses were progressive successful as galore arsenic 2,674road accidents . The effect further stated that “total fig of deaths of roads users/passengers/other conveyance users” stood astatine 1,230 during the aforesaid period. Of these, arsenic galore arsenic 183 were of passengers, and 283 were pedestrians. Furthermore, astir ₹150 crore was paid successful compensation during that period.
With the TGSRTC past grappling with crushing losses connected relationship of diesel terms hikes, compounded with the aftermath of the COVID - 19 pandemic and the lockdown that forced buses to spell disconnected the roads recovered it hard to wage compensation. An measurement to offset this, the transport juggernaut introduced a safety cess of ₹1 per passenger since 2022 truthful arsenic to physique a corpus to wage compensation.
