To hasten compensation for road accident victims, the government has brought out a draft notification stipulating that the payment should be made within 15 days from the receipt of the sanction order.

In a gazette draft notification, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said these rules may be called the ‘Scheme for Compensation to victims of Hit & Run Accidents, 2021’ and will come into force on the date of its final publication in the official gazette.

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“The payment under sub-rule (3) shall be made within 15 days from the date of receipt of the sanction order. Provided that the payment may be made within a further period of 30 days, for reasons to be recorded in writing to the Claims Settlement Commissioner,” the ministry said in the notification.

The claims enquiry officer will maintain a record, including in electronic form, of the claim awarded and the date of payment, and this will be used to populate the quarterly report under rule 13, it said.

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“Claims enquiry officer” means the sub-divisional officer, tehsildar, or any other officer in charge of the revenue sub-division of a taluka in each revenue district of a State, or such other officer not below the rank of sub-divisional officer or a tehsildar, as may be specified by the State government, it mentioned.

For claims arising from death of an accident victim, the compensation will be awarded to the legal representatives of the deceased, as decided by the claims enquiry officer, the notification said.

And for claims arising out of grievous hurt, the compensation will be awarded to the person injured, it added.

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