Chennai: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has partnered with the Chhattisgarh government to roll out a data-driven road safety programme across nine priority districts, focusing on reducing road accidents through hyperlocal interventions tailored to the state's tribal and mining regions.

The initiative will be implemented by IIT Madras' Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS) under its Data-Driven Hyperlocal Interventions (DDHI) programme. A memorandum of understanding was signed in Raipur on Thursday between CoERS Head Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian and Chhattisgarh Transport Secretary and Commissioner S. Prakash.

The first phase of the programme will cover Raipur, Raigarh, Surajpur, Balod, Baloda Bazar, Jashpur, Surguja, Mahasamund and Janjgir districts.

Under the collaboration, CoERS will provide technical support through district-level road safety assessments, engineering and administrative interventions, capacity-building programmes and training for state and district officials.

The programme places special emphasis on tribal and mining-dominated regions, where unique geographical conditions, traffic patterns and mobility needs require customised road safety solutions.

With the addition of Chhattisgarh, CoERS is now working with 18 state governments under the DDHI initiative.

IIT Madras Director Prof. V. Kamakoti said the programme demonstrated how academic institutions and governments could work together to address complex societal challenges through data-driven and locally relevant solutions.

CoERS Head Prof. Venkatesh Balasubramanian said road safety issues in tribal and mining belts differed significantly from other regions due to variations in terrain, vehicle mix, enforcement capacity and community behaviour, necessitating interventions designed specifically for local conditions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Chhattisgarh Transport Minister Kedar Kashyap said the collaboration reflected the state's commitment to reducing road fatalities and building a safer road system where every citizen could travel safely.

Transport Secretary S. Prakash said the partnership would utilise CoERS' "Sanjaya" platform to identify accident black spots and emerging crash locations, enabling timely evidence-based interventions and long-term monitoring in the identified districts.

The DDHI programme, launched by CoERS in partnership with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, works with district administrations to identify road safety challenges using recorded and perceived data before implementing low-cost, locally adaptable engineering and administrative measures.

According to IIT Madras, the initiative aims to strengthen institutional capacity for road safety and contribute to the Government of India's target of reducing road accident fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030.