The Hindu : National : Public transport only way of decongesting cities: Manmohan

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Saturday, Dec 31, 2005

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Public transport only way of decongesting cities: Manmohan

Staff Reporter

Centre will encourage proven, suitable technologies

Cities have to become more liveable People cannot depend on private transport National urban transport policy coming

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh coming out of the Metro train in New Delhi on Friday. — Photo: PTI

NEW DELHI: Rapid public transport is the only solution to decongest cities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday. He was inaugurating the new Barakhamba-Dwarka Line III of Delhi Metro here.

Although capital-intensive, metros had a case in traffic intensity situations. While there was need for more such metro systems, each city must evolve its own technically and economically feasible solution. "There is a wide spectrum of other proven transport technologies successfully operating in other parts of the world. The choice of technology has, of course, to be city-specific,'' Dr. Singh said

The Centre would encourage all proven technologies, which were economically viable and relevant to Indian conditions.

Pointing out that cities could not continue to develop in the manner they had grown over the past few decades, he said new investment in world-class public infrastructure was urgently needed.

"We have to invest in public transport, in roads with space for bicycles and pedestrians, in sanitation, in public parks, in airports, in railway stations, and many other amenities of modern life. Our cities have to become more liveable and more people-friendly."

In the absence of reliable and affordable public transport, private vehicles would fill the roads, leading to congestion, pollution and more accidents. People could not be forced to become dependent on costly private transport as it not only increased fuel consumption but also discriminated against those who could not afford the facility.

The Prime Minister said the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was launched for bringing about urban renewal. The programme sought to give a boost to investment in infrastructure combining it with reform of the urban governance process.

Dr. Singh urged planners, business and political leaders, intellectuals and all modern-minded people in all professions to "think bold, think big, think anew." The beginning of a new year was a good time to take a new look at old ways of doing things and see how these could be done better, he said.

Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said the governmentwould soon come out with a policy to provide safe, convenient and rapid public transport in all cities with a million-plus population. The policy, operating in tandem with the National Urban Renewal Mission, was aimed at promoting integrated use of multimodal transport in big cities and providing clean fuel, bypasses, parking areas, truck terminals and container depots.

Working as a "unified authority" for multimodal transport systems, the new policy would also assist in transporting people efficiently, easing congestion and reducing air pollution.

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