Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday raised concern over road accidents and said that India tops the world in terms of number of persons killed in road accidents.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Gadkari said that based on the latest issue of the World Road Statistics (WRS) 2018, brought out by the International Road Federation, Geneva, India ranks number 3 as per number of accidents.

And India ranks number 1 as per number of persons killed and ranks number 3 as per number of persons injured in road accidents, Gadkari added.

Moreover, the percentage of the fatalities involving road users between 18 to 45 years stood at 69.80 per cent for the year 2020, Parliament was informed.

Replying to a separate question, he said a total 22 greenfield highways (5 expressways comprising length of 2,485 km with cost of Rs 1,63,350 crore and 17 access controlled highways comprising length of 5,816 km with cost of Rs. 1,92,876 crore) have been envisaged for development.

Three sections of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway i.e. Delhi Dausa - Lalsot (Jaipur) (214 km), Vadodara Ankelshwar (100 km) and Kota Ratlam Jhabua (245 km) are planned for completion by March 23, he added.

To another question, the minister said FASTag is issued to vehicle users on the basis of Vehicle Registration Number/Chassis No.

As on March 30, 2022, the total number of FASTags issued by various banks was 4,95,20,949 and FASTag penetration achieved at fee plazas on National Highways is approximately 96.5 per cent, Gadkari said.