SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 1,109 road accidents and 206 fatalities on National Highways in 2026, according to data presented by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The figures, based on data available with the Government and including National Highways and expressways, show that 1,658 people were injured in road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir during the year. The data for 2026 has been sourced from the e-DAR portal.
The number of accidents in JK has declined from 2,378 in 2022 to 2,342 in 2023, 2,120 in 2024 and 1,867 in 2025, before falling further to 1,109 in 2026. Fatalities, however, rose from 259 in 2022 to 294 in 2023 and 271 in 2024, before reaching 431 in 2025 and declining to 206 in 2026.
The Ministry said road accident data is compiled from information received from States and Union Territories.
In the age-wise fatality data for Jammu and Kashmir, 17 people below the age of 18 were killed in National Highway accidents in 2026, along with 25 aged 18–25 years and 40 aged 25–35 years. A further 29 fatalities were recorded among those aged 35–45 years, 28 among the 45–60 age group and 12 among people aged 60 years and above, while the age of 55 victims was not known.
The figures also show that 2026 data is partial or subject to reporting through the e-DAR portal, and therefore year-on-year comparisons should be read in that context.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 472 claims initiated by hospitals under the PM-RAHAT (Road Accident Victims’ Hospitalization and Assured Treatment) scheme as of July 28, 2026. Of these, 51 claims were approved by the State Health Authority and 43 were settled, according to the Ministry’s data. The amount of claims paid for JK was shown as Rs 0.0 crore in the annexure.
Ladakh recorded 119 road accidents, 17 fatalities and 177 injuries on National Highways in 2026. Under PM-RAHAT, 12 claims were initiated, all 12 were approved and all 12 were settled, with the amount paid shown as Rs 0.0 crore.
Nationally, 77,234 road accidents and 34,610 fatalities were recorded on National Highways in 2026, while 60,224 people were injured, according to the data tabled in Parliament. The figures for 2025 and 2026 were sourced from the e-DAR portal.
The Union Government said PM-RAHAT was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2026, in accordance with the legal mandate under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The scheme provides for cashless treatment of road accident victims and was notified through a government order dated May 5, 2025, with detailed implementation guidelines and standard operating procedures issued on June 4, 2025.
The Ministry said communications had been sent to States and Union Territories to designate additional hospitals, particularly around accident hotspots, under the hospital empanelment guidelines and to ensure emergency care for road accident victims as required under local laws.
Across the country, hospitals had initiated 12,727 claims under PM-RAHAT by July 28, of which 9,601 were approved and 7,871 settled, with Rs 10.1 crore paid in claims.
