Rs 25k reward from govt for helping accident victims
"District-level appraisal sub-committees will be constituted to approve eligible Rah-Veers (good samaritans). These committees will be headed by the collector, with SP/DCP, chief district medical officer and regional transport officer serving as members," read a letter by transport secretary Usha Padhee to all district collectors.
As per the guidelines, the collector must upload the beneficiary's details, including Aadhaar and bank account numbers, to the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) platform for reward disbursement.
"When citizens transport critically injured persons directly to hospitals, medical staff will alert police, who will inform the district collector. The helper will receive a report copy, and the govt will transfer the reward directly to the beneficiary's account," the guideline read.
Padhee has instructed all collectors to promote the scheme, whose prime aim is to encourage people to render assistance to road accident victims in emergency situations and save their lives by shifting them to nearby hospital.
As per Padhee's letter, the scheme includes a provision where any citizen, who takes a critical accident victim to the hospital within the crucial "golden hour" and saves their life will be rewarded with Rs 25,000.
For saving one or more victims in a single accident, a Rah-Veer receives Rs 25,000. Multiple helpers for a single victim will share the Rs 25,000 equally. Annually, 10 Rah-Veers will be selected nationally for Rs 1 lakh awards.
Individual Rah-Veers can receive up to five rewards annually.
Collectors have been asked to submit action taken reports by July 20. The transport department said that Rah-Veer is an enhanced version of the previous 'Good Samaritan' scheme, which offered Rs 5,000 to individuals who assisted accident victims.
Under section 134 A of the motor vehicle amendment Act 2019, good Samaritan rules were notified by the ministry of road transport and highways on Sept 29, 2020. These rules protect good samaritans from potential police harassment when helping accident victims.
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