Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], May 30 (HBTV): The Haryana 112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) has made substantial strides in improving emergency response efficiency, as highlighted in the latest performance update for April 2025.

Since its inception, the system has managed over 2.31 crore calls, with 46.60 lakh vehicles dispatched to handle emergencies across the state. This was disclosed during the 13th meeting of the State Empowered Committee (SEC) 112 ERSS, chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi on Wednesday.

The Chief Secretary stated that the data reflects a consistent rise in service usage and enhanced response times. In April 2025 alone, 6,06,039 calls were attended, compared to 5,35,111 in April 2024 and 4,68,359 in April 2022. Dispatch rates also showed steady improvement, with 30 percent of attended calls resulting in vehicle deployment in April 2025, up from 24 percent in 2024 and 17 percent in 2022.

Rastogi noted significant improvements in response times across various services. Police response time dropped from 12 minutes 4 seconds in April 2022 to 7 minutes 3 seconds in April 2025. Medical emergency response time improved from 25 minutes 44 seconds to 12 minutes 50 seconds over the same period. Fire service response time stood at 32 minutes 50 seconds in April 2025, maintaining stability over the years.

A major milestone has been the successful integration of the 108 emergency helpline across the state within the designated timeline. As part of this integration, five Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) have been deployed in each district to strengthen emergency accessibility.

The full-scale integration of the 108 helpline with all 575 ambulances was completed in November 2024. This integration aims to deliver faster and more coordinated medical response throughout the state.

Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Dr Sumita Misra, stressed the importance of hospital mapping in all districts to ensure timely medical assistance for road accident victims.

Dr Misra added that Haryana launched the Trip Monitoring Service (TMS) in November 2023 to improve women’s travel safety. The service allows women to share their live location via WhatsApp with two dedicated desks at the State Emergency Response Centre (SERC). Over 300 trips have already been successfully tracked.

The state has also developed a verified database of approximately 94,000 working women and female students to facilitate swift identification and response in emergencies. Additionally, a database of over 87,000 registered auto-rickshaws has been integrated into the system to improve emergency responses involving these vehicles.

Misra further stated that the state’s dedicated cybercrime infrastructure was reviewed during the meeting. Currently, 54 Cyber Crime Reporting Terminals and 16 nodal officers from major banks are stationed at the SERC in Panchkula. This setup has greatly improved the speed of response to cyber fraud. In 2024, 7.25 lakh calls were received on the cyber helpline, with INR 268.40 crore successfully recovered out of the INR 980 crore reported defrauded — a recovery rate of 27 percent, more than double that of the previous year.

The meeting was also informed that Haryana 112 has introduced a system to automatically block abusive callers after a warning. Repeat offenders are tracked, and upon the fifth offence, an ERV is dispatched to their location. This has resulted in a significant reduction in abusive calls.

To further enhance emergency services, Haryana has procured 423 Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) with SIM connectivity and mobile device management licences for better coordination in ambulances and fire vehicles. Additional infrastructure such as UPS systems, monitors, and IP phones has also been installed to improve operational efficiency within budget constraints.

As Haryana 112 enters its next phase, the SEC has approved several strategic initiatives for Phase 2. Additional Chief Secretary Sumita Misra announced that a major technological upgrade will include the introduction of auto-dispatch systems powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), replacing the manual dispatch process to reduce delays and improve response time. The AI-powered Auto-Dispatch Systems will be launched on a pilot basis in July 2025.

(ANI)