NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday approved a Rs 1,789.52-crore Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) for Delhi Police aimed at improving traffic flow, road safety, enforcement and incident response across the national capital.
Briefing media after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the technology-driven project would cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three phases over 24 months, followed by five years of operation and maintenance.
“The initiative is part of broader efforts by the Centre and the Delhi government to modernise transport infrastructure and improve urban mobility. It seeks to make more efficient use of Delhi’s existing road network by replacing largely fixed traffic management practices with systems that can respond in real time to changing road conditions,” the Minister said.
Vaishnaw further said that all 1,529 traffic signals in Delhi currently operate on fixed timers, meaning signal durations remain unchanged even when traffic volumes vary significantly among multiple approaches reaching to the cross sections.
“Under the ITMS, adaptive traffic control systems will dynamically alter signal timings based on prevailing traffic conditions. Signals along designated corridors will also be coordinated to reduce unnecessary stoppages and delays,” he said.
Vaishnaw also said that the system could be used to manage congestion at Delhi’s roundabouts. “During periods of low traffic, signals may not be required, while heavy traffic could trigger automated regulation and sequential movement to prevent gridlocks,” he said.
Delhi has around 71 lakh active registered vehicles, with vehicular growth significantly outpacing the expansion of road infrastructure. The new system is intended to improve the utilisation of existing road capacity through real-time monitoring, automated control and faster operational responses.
Later in an official statement the government said, the project will deploy 1,092 Adaptive Traffic Control Systems and establish 1,029 enforcement locations. It will also support green corridors and priority movement for emergency vehicles, enabling them to navigate congested stretches more quickly, it added.
Real-time monitoring will detect congestion, slow-moving traffic and road incidents, allowing Delhi Police to initiate quicker diversions and other responses. Variable Message Signs and digital platforms will provide commuters with information on congestion, diversions, parking availability and prevailing traffic conditions. The information may also be shared with navigation service providers.
The ITMS will significantly expand automated traffic enforcement. The system will detect violations including red-light and stop-line violations, speeding, wrong-way driving, non-use of helmets and seat belts, illegal parking and mobile phone use while driving.
AI-based analytics will additionally assist in identifying stolen, hot-listed and blacklisted vehicles, repeat offenders and vehicles linked to hit-and-run cases.
Traffic regulation, enforcement and information dissemination will be integrated through Traffic Command and Control Centres, supported by secure Data Centre and Disaster Recovery infrastructure. The system will use open standards and application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing future expansion and integration with other platforms.
Implementation will be performance-driven, with each phase proceeding only after the preceding stage meets prescribed testing, commissioning, acceptance and performance requirements.
Delhi Police will select a Master System Integrator through competitive bidding to implement the project. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will serve as Project Management Consultant, providing technical scrutiny, monitoring, validation and acceptance support during implementation and the subsequent operation and maintenance period.
The government expects the ITMS to complement ongoing improvements in Delhi's road and transport infrastructure by providing real-time intelligence and technology for more efficient traffic management, safer roads, quicker incident response and more predictable travel for commuters.