Over 21 crore two-wheelers, 7 crore four-wheelers and above category of vehicles registered in India
New Delhi, Aug 4: The country has more than 21 crore two-wheelers and over 7 crore four-wheelers and above category of vehicles registered, Parliament was informed on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari said out of the total vehicles, 5,44,643 are electric two-wheelers while 54,252 are electric four-wheelers and above, as per the centralised data base -- VAHAN -- as on August 3, 2022.
Data further revealed that there were 2,95,245 two-wheelers and 18,47,539 four-wheeler and above category of vehicles with fuel types of CNG, ethanol, fuel cell hydrogen, LNG, LPG, solar, methanol etc.
Replying to a separate question, he said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways. National Highways are generally maintained in traffic-worthy condition.
During the rainy season, damages sometimes occur to National Highways in few places due to flooding, landslides, heavy downpour etc. But the restoration works are promptly carried out and traffic restored to normal, he added.
The minister noted that development and upgradation of National Highways is a continuous process.
He said MoRTH has been taking up projects such as the construction of expressways, capacity upgradation of existing National Highways, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing pavements, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing bridges and structures and construction of Road Over Bridges (RoBs) on existing National Highways depending upon traffic demand.
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Uncontrolled digging could erase Dharmasthala mass burial evidence: Soil scientist warns SIT
Bengaluru: A soil scientist, who has studied tropical lateritic soils, has released a note in anonymity, warning the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala (1994–2014) that improper excavation could permanently destroy critical forensic evidence.
The scientist cautioned that in the coastal, high-rainfall environment of Dharmasthala, bones from older graves are often not visually present due to the region’s acidic laterite soil, which accelerates decomposition. “In these conditions, the visual absence of bones does not mean there was no burial,” the expert stressed. “Chemical and microscopic soil analysis may be the only way to detect older graves.”
According to the soil scientist, Dharmasthala’s lateritic soil has a pH of 4.5–6, is porous and rich in iron and aluminium oxides, and is subject to over 3,500 mm of annual rainfall. These factors together cause rapid bone mineral dissolution and collagen breakdown. “In as little as 15–20 years, complete skeletons can be reduced to just teeth, enamel shards, or micro-residues,” the scientist said.
Drawing on comparisons with Rwanda, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Srebrenica, the scientist estimated that:
- Graves less than 15 years old have a reasonable chance of yielding skeletons.
- Graves 15–20 years old may yield only partial skeletons and teeth.
- Burials older than 20 years often retain only chemical signatures and microscopic fragments.
“In Dharmasthala’s soil, the probability of finding a full skeleton after two decades is near zero,” the expert said.
‘JCBs will destroy what’s left’
The soil scientist was particularly critical of the use of heavy machinery in the investigation. “Uncontrolled digging with JCBs can obliterate brittle bone fragments, erase burial stratigraphy, and mix burial soil with surrounding soil, diluting chemical signals,” he warned. “It’s equivalent to destroying the crime scene.”
The scientist emphasised that disturbed lateritic soil can quickly resemble undisturbed ground, making it almost impossible to detect graves later.
GPR as a map, not a microscope
The expert also noted that Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) could play a limited role in the investigation. “GPR can help locate soil disturbances, but in wet, iron-rich lateritic soils, it cannot ‘see bones.’ For burials decades old, chemical analysis of soil is far more reliable,” he said.
Call for controlled forensic exhumation
The soil scientist urged the SIT to stop all mechanical digging and adopt a forensic protocol:
- Use GPR or other non-invasive methods to locate anomalies.
- Excavate in small, measured layers under forensic supervision.
- Collect soil samples for chemical and microscopic analysis.
- Sieve soil to recover micro bone fragments and teeth.
“Only a controlled, scientific approach will preserve what little evidence may remain in this environment,” the scientist said. “If these traces are destroyed, the truth about the alleged burials may never be proven.”
The SIT is investigating allegations of mass burials linked to the disappearance of individuals between 1994 and 2014 in Dharmasthala. No official response to the scientist’s concerns has been issued.
