The Hindu Business Line : Cities must evolve technically feasible transport systems: PM

`We cannot force people to become dependent on costly private transportation. This will not only increase energy consumption but discriminate against those who cannot afford private transport'

A TICKET PLEASE: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, buying a travel card at the Connaught Place Metro station during the inauguration of the Barakhamba Road-Dwarka Metro line in New Delhi on Friday. — Rajeev Bhatt

New Delhi , Dec. 30

THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today asked major cities in the country to evolve their own technically and economically feasible solution in mass transport systems, keeping in mind their individual transport requirements.

"While we need more such metros in other cities, each city must evolve its own technically and economically feasible solution. There is a wide spectrum of other proven transport technologies successfully operating in other parts of the world. The choice of technology has to be city-specific," Dr Singh said inaugurating the 22.79-km-long Barakhamba Road-Dwarka section of Delhi Metro here.

He said that each city had its own transport requirements based on its urban form, level of demand, direction and extent of urban sprawl, and projections of future growth. The Centre would encourage and promote all proven technologies that are considered techno-economically suitable and relevant for Indian conditions — including rail, bus and other means of transport, he pointed out.

Terming Delhi Metro as amongst the most technologically advanced rail-based mass transit systems in the world, he hoped that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's expertise would be of use while planning metros in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kochi.

Emphasising that cities need to become more liveable and people friendly, he said, "We have to also take steps to enable people who work in the city to be able to live away from it... As the population of a city grows, the importance of public transport increases." In the absence of a good, reliable and affordable public transport, private vehicles would dominate the roads, leading to congestion, pollution, accidents and more fuel consumption, Dr Singh said.

Dr Singh said the government had launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission with the aim of making the urgently needed investment in world class public infrastructure, including a good, reliable and affordable public transport, in cities. "We need to invest in public transport, in roads with space for bicycles and pedestrians, in sanitation, in public parks, airports, railway stations and many other amenities. I encourage State Governments to come forward and take advantage of this facility by preparing imaginative projects and undertaking reforms of urban governance," he said.

The Prime Minister pulled a lever and flagged off the first train on the longest stretch of Delhi Metro, and hoped his New Year gift to the city would bring cheers to its citizens. Line 3 connects the heart of the Capital with Dwarka sub-city on the outskirts, has 22 stations. It has been completed in a record time of 30-months at a cost of around Rs 3,000 crore. The route will be opened for the public from tomorrow, when the new fare structure also comes into force. While the minimum fare has been left untouched at Rs 6, the maximum will be Rs 22.

Earlier while addressing the gathering, the Urban Development Minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, said that the Centre was working on a National Urban Transport Policy that envisaged setting up of multi-modal transport systems and would work in tandem with the recently launched National Urban Renewal Mission.