No relation between accidents and roadside ads: Govt

NEW DELHI: Government on Thursday said reliable research has found no relation between accidents and roadside advertisements on hoardings.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken said the number of accidents had come down during the past 15 months as hoardings all over the national capital were removed following a Supreme Court directive in 1998.

He said reliable research does not confirm the fact that hoardings will lead to driver losing concentration.

According to a study conducted by the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, there was no statistical relationship between accidents and roadside advertisements and the impact of roadside display on traffic was negligible at signal/manual controlled intersections.

Maken said hoardings were allowed after taking legal opinion on the Supreme Court ruling and subsequent judgement of the Apex Court on April 16, 2001, which prohibited only hazardous and distractive hoardings.

During the past one year, action against over 15,000 unauthorised hoardings and displays has been taken and 6778 cases registered, he said.

Maken, to a separate question, said about 91 per cent of the urban population has got access to water supply in the country.

The Centre had released Rs 2.72 crore in 2006-07 to Rajasthan under Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme, he said.