Road accident: Delay in process of paying compensation

The government has initiated a compensation scheme for victims of road accidents, but the process is facing delays.

Concerns have been raised that there is insufficient human resources dedicated to the programme, and the government's efforts to publicise the compensation scheme have been inadequate. Consequently, the number of applications for compensation is dwindling.

In 2018, provisions for financial assistance to road accident victims were added to the Road Transport Act. The rules for compensation were officially notified on 3 January of the following year.

Over the past year, a total of 194 individuals have received compensation amounting to 85.6 million taka. The programme was inaugurated on 19 October, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina providing compensation to 162 people totalling around 70 million taka.

Subsequently, an additional 32 individuals have been compensated in the last three months.

According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), 5,024 people lost their lives in road accidents last year, and 7,495 people were injured. By law, the families of the deceased and injured individuals are entitled to compensation.

BRTA data indicates that the number of claims for compensation is considerably lower than the number of casualties officially reported. However, unofficial accounts suggest that the actual number of casualties may be much higher.

According to a senior official of BRTA speaking anonymously to Prothom Alo, currently, an average of 70 applications are received every month. However, the current rate of processing allows for the approval of only 30 to 40 compensations per month. This means that despite the relatively lower number of applications, many remain pending, and complications may arise with an increase in the number of applications.

According to the Road Transport Compensation Rules, families of victims in case of death or injury due to a road accident are entitled to financial assistance of 500,000 taka. In case of significant limb loss, the victim will receive 300,000 taka.

If the injured person is unlikely to return to a normal life through treatment, financial assistance of 300,000 taka will be given. However, if there is a possibility of returning to normal life, the compensation will be 100,000 taka.

Nur Mohammad Majumdar, Chairman of BRTA and Chairman of the board of trustees formed to provide compensation, informed Prothom Alo that efforts are being made to inform the public about the compensation scheme through media advertisements.

Additionally, initiatives have been taken to increase manpower to expedite the processing of applications.

A BRTA source informed Prothom Alo that a total of 879 applications were submitted in a year seeking compensations for road accidents victims since the composition of rules until 15 January this year. A permanent investigation committee submitted 273 applications after conducting investigations. Some 194 cheques of financial assistance have been released.

About Tk 1.29 billion have been deposited in the compensation fund so far. The money is being deposited in the fund through collection of money from the owners while collecting vehicles’ tax-tokens at different rates.

BRTA assumes nearly 30 per cent of the road accident victims are well off. They might not apply seeking compensation. It would require Tk 3 billion per annum if the remaining 70 per cent victims apply for compensation. But the money, being collected from the vehicle owners, could amount to Tk 1 billion a year. As a result, money will have to be collected from other sources mentioned in the rules.

Speaking about this, BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Majumdar said that all the affected people have been urged to apply. Compensation will be paid to each victim if they are found to be eligible on verification. The scrutiny time will also come down gradually.