CHANDIGARH, July 31 -- Punjab has emerged among the poorest performers in implementing the Centre's PM-RAHAT (Road Accident Victims' Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment) Scheme for crash victims on national highways, with just one claim initiated and none approved or settled since it was rolled out nationwide in February this year. Data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday show a stark contrast between Punjab and several other states in the utilisation of the scheme. Gujarat leads the country with 4,308 claims initiated, 3,669 approved and 3,355 settled, followed by Madhya Pradesh (3,850 initiated, 3,290 approved, 2,597 settled), Assam (1,557, 1,263, 931), Jammu & Kashmir (472, 51, 43), Uttar Pradesh (344, 14, 5), Odisha (306, 262, 231), Chhattisgarh (304, 284, 211) and Haryana (267, 91, 40). The Union government launched the scheme nationwide on February 13, 2026, to ensure that accident victims receive immediate treatment without financial constraints. Under the scheme, a person injured in a road accident on a national highway is entitled to cashless treatment at an empanelled hospital. Instead of the patient bearing the expenses or applying for reimbursement, the hospital submits the claim under the scheme. The claim is then scrutinised by the state health authority, and once approved, the central government reimburses the hospital, ensuring that accident victims receive timely emergency care without upfront financial burden. Meanwhile, Punjab has witnessed a steady improvement in road safety indicators. National Highway accidents in the state declined from 2,388 in 2023 to 1,912 in 2024, 1,341 in 2025, and further to 534 in 2026 (up to July 28). Fatalities dropped from 1,895 in 2023 to 1,562 in 2024, 1,022 in 2025 and 434 in 2026, while the number of injured persons fell from 1,315, 1,171 to 954 and 434, respectively. As of July 28, a total of 12,727 PM-RAHAT claims had been initiated across the country, of which 9,601 were approved and 7,871 settled, reflecting a growing uptake of the scheme in several states. Punjab's solitary claim accounted for a negligible share of the national total, highlighting the state's limited utilisation of a programme designed to provide timely, cashless emergency care to road crash victims. The Union ministry of road transport and highways said it has repeatedly advised states and UTs to empanel more hospitals, particularly along accident-prone stretches and highway corridors....