Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday launched the Humsafar policy to provide essential amenities like clean toilets and baby care rooms on the country’s national highway network.
The Humsafar policy will introduce facilities like wheelchairs, EV charging stations, parking spaces and hostel services at fuel stations. The Humsafar policy will create employment and enhance livelihoods for service providers.
Facilitating the way for facilities like clean toilets, wheelchairs, EV charging stations, petrol pumps, restaurants, parking around the highway network, the central government has announced the Humsafar policy, which if implemented properly can change the picture of road travel.
While launching this policy on Tuesday, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari took a dig at the officials – After a lot of study and deliberation by educated people (officials and experts), this policy is finally being implemented after a delay of four years. Its objective is to make people experience pleasant and safe travel.
There are four types of services in the new policy
1. Eating and drinking places (Restaurants, Food Courts, Dhabas)
2. Food and drink places and fuel stations
3.Fuel Station Only (Including Toilet, Baby Care Room)
4. Trauma Centre (with toilet, baby care room)
Rating of private agencies
- The Humsafar policy also includes side amenities that are to be set up every 40-60 kilometres on the entire highway network. One thousand such side amenities are proposed.
- Apart from these, the dhabas, restaurants, petrol pumps etc. already present around this network have also been brought under the purview of the new policy.
- Their information will be available on the Highway Yatra platform and their rating will also be done by private agencies so that people can be informed about the level of facilities available in them. People will also be able to give their feedback on this portal.
- The new policy will also allow the establishments and centres providing these services to put up their signboards on the highways. Gadkari admitted on this occasion that it is our responsibility to develop these facilities for high-quality road service, but the government has failed to fulfill it.
New employment opportunities
With the introduction of this policy, he also warned the existing petrol pumps to open their toilet doors for people, otherwise their NOC will be cancelled. The new policy also includes baby care rooms, which Gadkari specifically mentioned in the context of the inconvenience caused to women. The new policy will not only provide people a better environment for road travel, but will also empower entrepreneurs and create new employment opportunities.
Standard set of facilities available
Gadkari hoped that the Humsafar brand would become synonymous with safe and comfortable travel. An important objective of this policy is to provide a standard infrastructure of facilities along highways and expressways – that is, better food points or toilets will not be only on the borders of big cities, but also on stretches of highways around towns and villages.
Monitoring services
The Road Transport Ministry has also made arrangements for monitoring these services in the new policy. Gadkari asked agencies like NHAI to pay constant attention to this.
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the service providers will have to provide entry-exit space, service lanes and signage.
Their license will be renewed every two years. If there are multiple applications within a radius of 10 km, only one license will be given. Service providers with regular 3 plus rating will also be given a discount in fees.
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