Govt plans to ease traffic chaos
High Court Tells State To Set Timeframe For Implementation ………Swati Deshpande
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday indicated to the Bombay high court that it has no immediate interest in experimenting with the traffic restraint scheme (TRS), but at the same time came up with four significant suggestions to ease the chaotic traffic on Mumbai roads, including a proposal to phase out 20-year-old private cars.
A high-level meeting was convened by the transport commissioner on Wednesday at which BEST officials were also present. Among the proposals that emerged from the meeting was barring all those who do not own off-street parking space from buying a car.
State government lawyer S K Nair argued that the TRS scheme, which envisaged restricting the number of cars on a given route, appeared “impractical,’’ and informed the Bombay high court on Wednesday that it had come up with other proposals to control peak hour traffic and vehicular pollution. “We can also have dedicated bus lanes and Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), with BEST expected to put 200 more AC buses on the road by December 2009,’’ he said.
“All these are only suggestions. You only talk and don’t act. When are you going to act on it?’’ said a division bench of justiced Bilal Nazki and Vijaya Kapse-Tahilramani. Nair pointed out that the proposal was stil in a very nascent stage. But the judges directed the state government to place its suggestions in an affidavit within two weeks, with a specific timeframe for its implementation and warned that “if the state doesn’t do it, we shall direct it to act.’’
The court was hearing a PIL filed in 1999 by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) seeking measures to curb vehicular pollution. At the last hearing the court had asked the state to inform whether it would try out the TRS on certain roads for a month.
The state’s reluctance to even try out TRS in the city which has over 4 lakh cars was partially offset by its other proposals which “appear to be reasonably positive initiatives’’ said Shiraz Rustomjee, counsel for BEAG. The court accepted his submission that the state must be asked to fix a time frame for its latest suggestions.
Some of the suggestions such as phasing out of old private vehicles are however not new and were made by the Lal committee eight years back. “The 20-year-old cars can initially be permitted to run on weekends with at least three passengers, that too on the last lane,’’ the state government said. It also suggested a congestion tax as is prevalent in some countries abroad. Rustomjee had earlier pointed out that Mumbai gets nearly 350 new cars daily and the figure was only likely to go up dramatically once the Nano hits the city. The HC will now hear the matter on July 8.
BEST awaits govt nod for bus lanes …….Roana Maria Costa
BEST awaits govt nod for bus lanes …….Roana Maria Costa
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is waiting impatiently for a green signal to get started on dedicated bus lanes. General manager Uttam Khobragade said BEST has been asking for dedicated lanes for a long time but the request is still pending.
“This is the only way to reduce congestion. Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) and dedicated lanes are a cheaper and more practical options to private vehicles in the city. More people can travel comfortably, occupying lesser road space,” he said. The instant the government gives the nod to the BRTS, BEST will increase air-conditioned buses. “If they give us permission today we will start the very next day,” he said.