National award for B-TRAC project
The City Traffic Police have bagged the National Award for e-governance for efficient use of technology in implementing the B-TRAC project.
Several technology-based initiatives such as use of BlackBerry devices to check traffic rule violations, installation of GPS on buses, centralised traffic signal management, etc, have been launched under the project, bringing in transparency and accountability in the system.
Addressing a press meet here on Monday, Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari said 100 per cent technology-based traffic management has been achieved in the City, the first ever in the country.
The state government has released Rs 120 crore for the project in the last three years. The Union Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances Ministry had announced a gold medal in e-governance for the successful implementation of the project. The medal will be presented at the 14th national conference on e-governance to be held in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, on February 10 and 11.
Bidari said 61 per cent of traffic violations were detected with the help of video cameras installed in major traffic junctions in 2010, up from 35 per cent in 2009.
There has been a significant rise in collection of fine as well. A sum of Rs 48 crore has been collected as fine in 2010 as against Rs 19.91 crore in 2007. The number of accidents too has come down to 6,483 last year compared to 8,426 in 2007. Bidari said several development projects were being implemented in the City simultaneously and the traffic cops were doing an exemplary work in regulating traffic congestion.
