NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel on Wednesday put forward a host of suggestions to the Delhi government on ways to ensure better traffic management in the national capital and reduce snarls.The report, titled ‘The Management of Worsening Traffic Situation in Delhi’, and compiled by the 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs was presented in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The report comprises 107 recommendations to the government to put an end to the city’s perennial traffic woes.
Expressing concern over the galloping rise in the number of vehicles on Delhi roads by the day, the panel called for radical steps to check their growth, including registration of new vehicles only if the old ones are consigned to scrap yards or disposed of. Another recommendation is to check if car owners have parking spaces at their homes. It has also suggested linking car insurance premium to traffic rule violations.
It has also recommended strict compliance with the order passed down by the National Green Tribunal on phasing out diesel and petrol vehicles of 10 and 15 years of vintage, respectively.
Citing the entry of 12 lakh vehicles, mostly commercial, into the city every day and voicing displeasure over the lack of regulation of freight traffic management, the panel has stressed the need for a well-considered Freight Traffic Regulation Policy, as well as effective regulation of the entry of vehicles from neighbouring states during peak traffic hours.
It has also suggested that these vehicles be allowed to use the peripheral or ring roads, as opposed to city roads. The panel noted that freight traffic on Delhi roads accounts for more than 18% of the city’s total vehicular volume. Expressing concern over the city not adding to its bus fleet over the last 10 years, the panel strongly recommended the addition of 6,000 more buses.It has also advised the Delhi Police to not only focus on rule enforcement at traffic lights but also ensure road discipline, topping which is lane-driving.