The committee, headed by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab , found that the number of casualties due to accidents at unmanned crossings has come down from 123 in 2012-'13 to 40 in 2016-'17.The panel found that as many as 6,169 unmanned level crossings have been eliminated in the last five years, the highest (1,503) being in 2016-'17. Railways has set the target of elimination of 1,500 unmanned crossings in 2017-'18, 1,500 in 2018-'19 and 1,943 in 2019-'20. The committee has also suggested that the railways pay compensation to road users who are killed or injured at level crossings, without making them go through the judicial process. It recommended that the cause of each accident at level crossings should be investigated, preferably by an outside agency. Road users are given compensation only if decreed by MACT or another court.

Source: Times of India August 14, 2017 01:21 UTC