The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), which has come up with a draft Comprehensive Transportation Plan-2014 for Hyderabad Metropolitan Area and a draft Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Master Plan, has placed the same for objections and suggestions from public.
Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad said the drafts, along with detailed statements, would be displayed at the HMDA Complex, Tarnaka on all working days till January 10, 2014. Additionally, they will be on display at the offices of GHMC, APSRTC and Hyderabad Metro Rail soon and interested persons can view the same on the website ‘www.hmda.gov.in’.
On Comprehensive Transportation Plan, Mr. Prasad said the draft was the culmination of a 30-month exercise by the consultants LEA Associates, with a technical advisory committee monitoring it. He said the draft has come up with travel demand forecasts for the horizon year 2041 and proposed the expansion of Metro Rail, MMTS, highways network and introduction of BRTS.
“It has also proposed an Intercity Express Transit System to come up on separate lines connecting major cities and centres around the city such as Warangal, Mahabubnagar and Bibinagar with a journey time of one to two hours,” he said. A total of 6,000 km road length has been proposed by the year 2041 which would include a highway network of 1,085 km.
The Transportation Plan envisages a total investment of Rs.1,25,000 crore over the next three decades which works out to Rs. 4,000 crore to Rs. 6,000 crore per annum.
The ITS Master Plan has been submitted by a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) study team and looks at improved safety, reduction in travel time and cost by providing real time information.
The data for ITS would be collected through roadside equipment such as CCTV, Automatic Traffic Counter cum Classifier, weather stations, sensors for data on flood, pollution, road conditions, water logging and so on.
Data thus collected gets processed at two control centres proposed at Nanakramguda and Ghatkesar and then disseminated to road users through SMS, FM Radio, Variable Message Sign and navigation systems installed in vehicles.
“The ITS Master Plan envisages a total investment of more than Rs.1,100 crore,” Mr. Prasad added.