The Hindu 16.12.2009
Massive funds in the pipeline for urban transport in select cities
Staff Reporter
| Centre to undertake demonstration project involving huge capacity building |
It will be done under the National Sustainable Habitat Mission to be approved soon
The project being taken up under ‘moving train’ concept to cover more cities and towns
BANGALORE: M. Ramachandran, Secretary to the government of India, Ministry of Urban Development, on Tuesday said the Centre would undertake a demonstration project involving huge capacity building programme for urban transport in select cities from January next.
Titled World Bank – UNDP – GEF Assisted Sustainable Urban Transport Project, the proposal involves grant from the Global Environment Facility and loan to States from the World Bank. More cities could join the project in future as it was being undertaken on a “moving train” concept, Mr. Ramachandran said. He was delivering the Foundation Day Lecture on “Urban Transport in India – The Journey so far and way forward” at the Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning of the Indian Institute of Science here.
Mr. Ramachandran said: “When the National Sustainable Habitat Mission is launched after the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change approves the same, we should be able to take public transport efficiency-related initiatives in cities.” The Ministry of Urban Development had taken a number of initiatives, including the National Urban Transport Policy and launching of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) towards ensuring a comfortable urban life. Huge grants had been given to project cities for infrastructure development and later the grants were extended for procurement of urban buses too, Mr. Ramachandran said. Still, a lot was to be done and the daunting task ahead was to improve the urban transport infrastructure. The investment required for urban transport was estimated at Rs. 1,32,590 crore in the 11th Plan and about Rs. 4,35,380 crore over the next two decades, Mr. Ramachandran said.
Government budgetary support alone was insufficient to meet the requirement and innovative ways, including public-private-partnership, have to be found to fund urban transport infrastructure.
