Metro-man appointed as Pr Advisor to MRTCs
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 4: The Government today said the work on building elevated light rail transit systems , first of its kind in the country, for Srinagar and Jammu cities would start soon and the project will be completed in four-five years at the cost of Rs 8500 crore. Government also appointed Dr E Sreedharan, also known as metro-man, as the Principal Advisor to Mass Rapid Transit Corporations (MRTCs) of Srinagar and Jammu.
Principal Secretary to the Government, Housing and Urban Development Department, Dheeraj Gupta, told a press conference here that it is proposed to have Light Rail System, the first in India, which will have low footprint, low noise, greater comfort, aesthetic appeal and will blend with the surrounding landscape.
Gupta said the total cost of light rail system which they are planning to introduce in two cities (Srinagar and Jammu) is around Rs 8500 crores. “It is to be funded through debt, State’s equity and Central assistance”, he said.
He said Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) will complete the detailed project reports (DPRs) in next 15-20 days. “After the DPRs, we need to have certain approvals from the State Government and the Government of India. The work would be completed in four-five years,” he said.
Gupta said that in phase one of the elevated light rail transit system in Srinagar, two corridors will be laid from HMT junction to Indra Nagar and Osmanabad to Hazuribagh. “In phase two, two corridors will be laid from Indra Nagar to Pampore Bus Stand and Hazuribagh to Airport,” he said.
He said that in Jammu, in phase one, two corridors from Bantalab to Greater Kailash and Udheywala to Exhibition Ground will be developed. In the second phase, corridors will be built from Greater Kailash to Bari Brahamana Railway Station and Exhibition Ground to Satwari Chowk to Airport.
Gupta said that two Mass Rapid Transit Corporations (MRTCs), for Srinagar and Jammu, which were incorporated in February this year will take steps to address the issue of urban mobility in the State in a holistic manner by providing safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access for the growing number of city residents to jobs, education, recreation and such other needs within our cities, by establishment of quality focused multi-modal public transport systems that are well integrated, providing seamless travel across modes, land use transport integration, introducing intelligent transport systems for traffic management etc.
He said that these Corporations are the extended arms of the Metropolitan Authorities, earlier constituted by the State Government, and are there to supplement the efforts of these authorities in achieving their objectives of proper, orderly and rapid development of these areas and executing plans, projects and schemes especially related to Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) and Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS).
Gupta said that as per the mandate given, two MRTCs have also undertaken preliminary steps for operationalizing city buses, within the jurisdiction of the MRDAs, to set new standards and benchmarks in public transport. “These will be app based, air-conditioned, smart e-buses with automatic fare collection systems”, he added.
“Comprehensive Mobility Plans (CMPs) for the two Capital cities earlier prepared by RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service) – A Government of India Enterprise, are being updated. The two MRTCs will take further steps to implement the recommendations”, he said.
Gupta said that State Government, being conscious of the challenges in planned development of the Capital Regions of the State, last year enacted “The Jammu and Kashmir Metropolitan Region Development Authorities Act, 2018”.
He said that Jammu Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Srinagar Metropolitan Region Development Authority will provide an integrative framework for the purpose of planned development of these regions.
Gupta said that these Authorities are expected to serve the purposes of coordination, besides supervising the proper, orderly and rapid development of the areas in these regions and executing plans, projects and schemes for such development and also raise resources for mega projects.
“The Authorities, will prepare an Infrastructure Development Plan which will be the guide for annual investments in creating infrastructure. In the next few years, the thrust of the annual plan will be to reduce the deficit on infrastructure -roads, water supply, sewerage, storm water drainage, public transportation including, light rails, e-buses and other amenities”, he said.
He said that besides infrastructure, these authorities, through a consultative exercise with the Police and the Municipal Corporations and Deputy Commissioners will formulate a Comprehensive Mobility Management Plan, for managing mobility in the region.
“These new authorities will also prepare a Sustainable Management Plan for sustainable management of the urban environment, such as, increasing the area under green cover, water conservation, waste water treatment, water recycling, rainwater harvesting, energy conservation, adoption of renewable sources of energy, provision of open spaces and city parks”, Gupta said.
He said that the State Administrative Council in its meetings held yesterday approved the areas to be included in the Srinagar Metropolitan Region and Jammu region.
Gupta said the areas for these Metropolitan Region Development Authorities have been selected on the principles of regional planning and development. “This included the economic interdependence of the mother city with the city region, mobility and the geographical contiguity. The planning and development at the regional level will ensure the economic development of the mother city as well as the city region. The supra bodies are expected to steer ahead the development projects spanning over multiple jurisdictions and shall also bring in innovation, speed, effectiveness, efficiency, economy and accountability in the existing framework”, he said.
“As per the approval, Srinagar Metropolitan Region will cover the areas of districts of Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Baramulla, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian covering an approximate area of 2494.65 sq. kms. Similarly, the Jammu Metropolitan Region will cover the areas of districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, and Udhampur covering an area of 2216.58 sq. kms”, he added.
He said million sq ft IT parks will also be developed in the townships in Greater Jammu and Greater Srinagar. “To fully operationalize these Authorities, necessary staff, including outsourced domain experts will be provided by the Government”, he added.
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