Empowered committee seeks pollution free traffic in Delhi and NCR

Empowered committee seeks pollution free traffic in Delhi and NCR

New Delhi, India, April 04, 2007 - The first Meeting of the Empowered Committee of the National Capital Region Planning Board was held under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Urban Development Ministry, Shri M. Ramachandran in New Delhi today. Chief Secretary of Haryana, Additional Chief Secretary of Rajasthan besides senior officials from the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and other officials from the Central Government Departments, attended the meeting.

The meeting discussed issues relating to unrestricted movement of buses, taxis and auto rickshaws within the National Capital Region, use of CNG fuel to reduce pollution levels in the towns of National Capital Region, opening large number of CNG Pump Stations in the NCR as well as improving connectivity in the National Capital Region both by extension of Metro to satellite towns around NCT of Delhi as well as better framework of roads in preparation for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games-2010.

The Empowered Committee also decided to set up a Committee of Transport Secretaries under the aegis of NCR Planning Board to work out a common framework for seamless traffic and to develop a draft for a common multi-lateral agreement.

Shri M. Ramachandran highlighted the problems relating to movement from Delhi to NCR towns like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida and back and emphasized the need to resolve these issues bilaterally in the short term as well as for creation of a hassle free Multi-Mode Transport System in the National Capital Region in the medium term.

The Empowered Committee deliberated on the need for having a seamless travel facility within National Capital Region through bilateral agreements under the provisions of Motor Vehicle Act in the short term and subsequently a multi-lateral agreement among the constituents of National Capital Region. The Committee also felt that inter-state buses, particularly those running from NCR towns to Delhi and also from state capitals to Delhi should be progressively converted to CNG or alternatively constituent states should switch-over to EURO-III norm for diesel driven buses in a time-bound manner.

To promote better connectivity in the wake of Commonwealth Games, the Empowered Committee deliberated on the need to expedite the up gradation of the existing National Highways to six lane or eight lane access controlled highways on expressways standards and requested Ministry of Road Transport & National Highway Authority of India to expedite conversion well before Commonwealth Games. It is also emphasized that the work on elevated highway at Badarpur between Delhi-Faridabad needed to be completed expeditiously for improving the flow of traffic on this route.

Dr. H. S. Anand, Member Secretary, NCR Planning Board called for enhancement of CNG buses in the NCR.

The Empowered Committee was set up by the NCR Planning Board to take decisions on critical activities essential for making the National Capital Region an area of global excellence. The Committee comprises of Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Chief Secretaries of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Secretary, Housing Uttar Pradesh. with the Member Secretary, NCR Planning Board as Member-Convenor.