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Delhi Gets Moving |
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With the Commonwealth Games in sight, Delhi is moving on a war footing to get its transportation infrastructure in place. The seriousness can be gauged from the huge Rs 2,933 crore outlay in the plan allocation for 2008-09 announced recently |
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KEEPING AWAY WOES: Delhi’s new Bus Rapid Transport system is beginning to provide people with a decent public transport alternative |
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Keeping a city of nearly 16 million people on the move is not an easy task. But for Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, keeping the city’s arteries flowing smoothly is critical.
The seriousness of the Chief Minister in improving the national capital’s transportation infrastructure is crystal clear. The Delhi Government in its budget for 2008-09 announced on March 24 has made an unprecedented 41 per cent hike in the allocation for the transport sector. The outlay of Rs 2,933 crore is 29 per cent of the plan allocation of Rs 10,000 crore. There has been a Rs 1,000 crore increase in the plan outlay itself.
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| Delhi is now criss-crossed with flyovers, overbridges, and underpasses. The spurt has been more during the last 2-3 years, in preparations for Commonwealth Games 2010. These have improved traffic flow |
We are clear that improvement in transportation infrastructure will give a modern and classy look to the city. That is why we have decided to spend the maximum in this sector in the coming year
Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Delhi |
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The reason for this higher allocation is two-fold. First, the CM is committed to giving a world class touch to the capital before the onset of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Secondly, and crucially, the capital is expanding at a pace that is scorching. While the city’s population is 16 million at day time, the vehicle population has crossed the 5 million mark.
To deal with this booming vehicular population, the Delhi Government has rightly taken a Citizen Centric approach rather than a Motor Vehicle Centric approach. Some of the major initiatives, taken to improve the functioning of the transport sector, are:
· The entire public transport fleet comprising buses, autos and taxis has been put on the CNG mode.
· To reduce dependence on only one mode of transport i.e. road transport, it is proposed to diversify the modes of transport by introducing some other modes of transport like high capacity bus service
(HCBS), ETB, and monorail.
· Work on new ISBTs has been taken up.
· Work on new Metro corridors continues.
· Blueline buses will be phased out and more low-floor buses will be ushered in, in a phased manner.
· Work on 9 flyovers and bridges will be speeded up; work on 7 more will be started.
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| BIG projects |
(Rs
lakh) |
| Setting up a Mass Rapid Transport System in the Capital |
32,855 |
| SPV-Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit System |
10,000 |
| Restructuring and revival of Delhi Transport Corporation |
8000 |
Setting up new ISBTs at Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar
and other places |
2700 |
| Integrated Development of rail and bus transport system |
1778 |
| Control of vehicle air pollution from exhaust of vehicles |
250 |
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ROLL ON: The Metro (left) is reliable, safe, and helps keep cars off roads; (left) radio taxis are the need of the hour
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Says Chief Minister Dikshit: “We are clear that improvement in transportation infrastructure will give a modern and classy look to the city. That is why we have decided to spend the maximum in this sector in the coming year.” That includes increasing the fleet of DTC buses, corporatizing and cooperatizing the plying of private buses in Delhi and, of course, stringent enforcement of rules.
High capacity bus corridors that promise to put the Capital’s public transport system in league with world class cities will be thrown open to the public in the summer of 2008.
Also known as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor, the first such pathway on the 14.5-km long Ambedkar
Nagar-Delhi Gate stretch will be made operational by June 2008.
The corridor is a set of roads elevated to form a pathway for high capacity bus systems. With
BRT, the city will join such international capital cities like Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Lima,
Bogota, Taipei, Hanoi, and Beijing, to name a few, where the system has already been adopted to address problems of congestion and pollution.
“BRT will bring a sea change in the city’s public transport not only in terms of comfort but also in efficiency,” says Delhi Transport Minister Haroon
Yusuf.
The Delhi Government at all times has remained alert to the issue of Delhi’s burgeoning vehicular population. In order to be on top of the situation, several studies in the Xth Five Year Plan Period (2002-2007) were undertaken. These relate to the Mass Rapid Transit System, route planning, feeder routes, electronic trolley buses, light rail transport, parking policy, all geared to meet the requirements of the city for the Commonwealth Games 2010.
Adds Delhi Government’s Director (Information and Publicity) Uday
Sahay, “Being aware of the problems helps us to take critical decisions well in advance. The results are then meaningful for the commuters.” Quite rightly, the results are there to be seen.
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June 2008
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