MUMBAI, Nov. 11 -- In a meeting with the chief secretary of Maharashtra on Monday, the Supreme Court-monitored high-power committee on road safety instructed the state government to strictly implement the mandate of helmets for two-wheelers and seat belts for all the passengers in four-wheelers. The directives come against the backdrop of the Supreme Court order last month and accident data which showed that 70% of road accidents involved two-wheelers and pedestrians. Subsequent to this, the Maharashtra government issued a circular ordering all municipal corporations in the state to allocate 1% of their annual budget for road safety, traffic discipline and public awareness initiatives as per the SC directions on pedestrian safety. With this, the BMC, which has an annual budget of Rs.74,427 crore will have to spend Rs.744 crores for road safety initiatives. The SC-monitored committee, under retired SC judge A M Sapre, is on a five-day Maharashtra visit and met chief secretary Rajesh Kumar on Monday. The committee is visiting states to ensure the implementation of the court order on road safety. The meeting was attended by key officials from the traffic police and transport, public works, school education and rural development departments among others. The committee stressed the need to strictly implement the SC order given last month. "While highlighting data that 70% of road accidents involve two-wheelers and pedestrians, it told the government to ensure that the mandate of compulsory helmets for two-wheeler riders and pillion riders was implemented in the next six months," said a Mantralaya official. "Similar enforcement is expected for all four-wheeler occupants. The committee also told the state government that since the issue was being monitored by the SC, lapses in implementation would not be tolerated." The officer said that except for Mumbai and parts of MMR, the helmet mandate was not enforced strictly and the helmets-for-pillion-riders rule was not enforced even in these places. The committee also insisted on action against road contractors responsible for accidents due to faulty structure, design and lacunae in the maintenance of roads. The state government has also been directed to aim at reducing accidents by 35%. As many as 14,565 fatal accidents were registered in the state in 2024, leaving 22,051 people seriously injured, causing 15,715 deaths. In 2025, 10,720 fatal accidents were reported until September 30, resulting in 11,532 deaths. The state government has directed various departments to undertake certain measures, including an audit of footpaths, zebra crossings and foot over bridges, with priority accorded to areas near schools, religious places and railway stations. The authorities have also been directed to install cameras, GIS mapping and a dedicated online grievance redressal facility to resolve complaints related to encroachments, bad quality of roads and footpaths among other things. The Supreme Court, in its order of October 7, had directed all state governments to strictly implement the measures to reduce accidents and fatalities. The SC has been monitoring the enforcement by the states, and the committee under Justice Sapre has been appointed for monitoring and coordination with governments....