The Times of India 20.08.2010
PMC says no to no vehicle day’
PUNE: The civic administration has expressed its inability to execute a no vehicle day’ plan in the city.
The concept has been floating for the last few years and recently the Congress leader in the PMC, Aba Bagul, had again revived the discussion.
In a written reply to all party leaders, the administration has stated, “Any such scheme will not be appropriate on any parts of the city or roads and the civic administration will have to face unnecessary problems if it tried to implement such a scheme.”
The statement added, “The traffic police have communicated that they don’t have any such plans and the municipal corporation should plan such schemes if possible.”
Experts and environmentalists have been seeking improvement in public transport through steps to discourage the use of personal vehicles by introducing vehicle taxes, congestion taxes and heavy parking charges, as is done in developed nations.
“We will try to convince the civic administration on the matter. If no vehicle zone’ is not possible the administration can definitely go for no vehicle day’ at least once a week in some parts of the city,” Aba Bagul said.
Bagul’s original proposal for the no vehicle day’ said that personal vehicles should be banned in some parts of the city once a week and only public transport and non-motorised transport such as bicycles should be allowed to ply in these areas.
State urban development department principal secretary, T C Benjamin, who was in Pune recently, had said, “In Mumbai, the government has procured land and prepared a master plan for parking of private vehicles. Car owners will have to park there and take the public transport. This will curb the number of vehicles in the busy parts of the city. Congestion tax is another step which can be considered.”
Earlier, then municipal commissioner Nitin Kareer had agreed to consider a proposal to declare sections of Laxmi road and Bajirao road as no vehicle zones’. Former municipal commissioner Pravinsingh Pardeshi also had supported the idea, but it did not materialise during his tenure.
