New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) A Rs 14,000 crore project has been prepared by the government to identify accident black spots and plug gaps in highways to reduce casualties, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Gadkari said the Ministry of Finance has given its in- principle approval to the project and his Ministry has approached the World Bank to implement it.

“It is a highly sensitive subject for our government.

Despite our efforts, the success rate to reduce road accidents is not good. We have prepared a Rs 14,000 crore project to identify accident black spots so that loopholes can be plugged. The Ministry of Finance has given its in-principle approval to it,” he said during Question Hour.

The minister appreciated works being undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government to reduce road accidents, saying work in other states in this regard was not encouraging.

“Due to efforts of the Tamil Nadu government, there has been a 15 per cent drop in accidents in the state while for the rest of the country it is just 1.5 per cent drop,” he said.

According to a report of the National Crime Control Bureau, a total of 4,80,652 road accidents took place in India in 2016 resulting in a loss of 1,50,785 lives and inflicting serious injuries on 4,94,624 persons.

The NCRB report on crimes and accidental deaths for 2017 and 2018 has not been published yet.