Wednesday, June 29, 2005
National urban transport policy gets off the ground
National urban transport policy gets off the ground: "National urban transport policy gets off the ground
OUR ECONOMY BUREAU
Posted online: Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
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NEW DELHI, JUNE 29: The government is set to start work on formulating a national urban transport policy soon. Representatives of all the states deliberated upon the issue during the chief ministers’ conference called by urban development minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Wednesday. The minister said that work would soon start on finalising the policy, after all the state chief ministers unanimously agreed on the need for such a policy.
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It is projected that the urban population would grow to about 473 million by 2021 and 820 million by 2051. Keeping this in mind and to meet the mobility needs of the current population, the government has decided to formulate the policy. The main focus of the policy would be to encourage usage of public transport system over private vehicles. This, Mr Azad said, would be done by raising fuel tax and by increasing parking charges.
Although management of urban areas and transport comes under the jurisdiction of the state government, the Centre would allocate funds for setting up modern transport systems. Apart from this, cities would have to modify their masterplans according to the future projected population growth, and transportation patterns.
Mr Azad said, “we will encourage each city with a population of more than 40 lakh to start planning for a mass transit system. They would be allowed to adopt a technology that would best suit the city requirements in a 30-year time-frame.” He said that modern transport systems like buses on dedicated corridors, elevated sky bus and monorail system, could be introduced in these cities under the policy.
Even cities with population of 10 lakhs and above could be considered for some systems, he added. Separate tracks for bicycle riders and pedestrians would also be set up. All these provisions would be given priority under the national urban renewal mission, which seeks to provide Rs 50,000 crore to states in the next five years, Mr Azad said.
Under the draft policy document, the government would also encourage special purpose vehicles for setting-up high-cost mass transit systems. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit while expressing on the draft policy called for modifications in the Motor Vehicles Act. She said that it had become quite obsolete and there is a need to draft a new Act, keeping in mind the modern transportation scenario. She also advocated the need to adopt a uniform taxation policy throughout the country. This, she said would discourage people from buying used vehicles"
OUR ECONOMY BUREAU
Posted online: Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 0000 hours IST
Send Feedback E-mail this story Print this story
NEW DELHI, JUNE 29: The government is set to start work on formulating a national urban transport policy soon. Representatives of all the states deliberated upon the issue during the chief ministers’ conference called by urban development minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Wednesday. The minister said that work would soon start on finalising the policy, after all the state chief ministers unanimously agreed on the need for such a policy.
Advertisement
It is projected that the urban population would grow to about 473 million by 2021 and 820 million by 2051. Keeping this in mind and to meet the mobility needs of the current population, the government has decided to formulate the policy. The main focus of the policy would be to encourage usage of public transport system over private vehicles. This, Mr Azad said, would be done by raising fuel tax and by increasing parking charges.
Although management of urban areas and transport comes under the jurisdiction of the state government, the Centre would allocate funds for setting up modern transport systems. Apart from this, cities would have to modify their masterplans according to the future projected population growth, and transportation patterns.
Mr Azad said, “we will encourage each city with a population of more than 40 lakh to start planning for a mass transit system. They would be allowed to adopt a technology that would best suit the city requirements in a 30-year time-frame.” He said that modern transport systems like buses on dedicated corridors, elevated sky bus and monorail system, could be introduced in these cities under the policy.
Even cities with population of 10 lakhs and above could be considered for some systems, he added. Separate tracks for bicycle riders and pedestrians would also be set up. All these provisions would be given priority under the national urban renewal mission, which seeks to provide Rs 50,000 crore to states in the next five years, Mr Azad said.
Under the draft policy document, the government would also encourage special purpose vehicles for setting-up high-cost mass transit systems. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit while expressing on the draft policy called for modifications in the Motor Vehicles Act. She said that it had become quite obsolete and there is a need to draft a new Act, keeping in mind the modern transportation scenario. She also advocated the need to adopt a uniform taxation policy throughout the country. This, she said would discourage people from buying used vehicles"
// posted by Shri H @ 10:35 PM 
