VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is yet to begin the preparation of the comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) as it is waiting for the approval of the Union Ministry of Urban Development.
The CMP is aimed at finding a suitable solution to the traffic woes and introduce environment friendly transport system in the city. The preparation of the CMP assumed significance after the emergence of clear indications that the capital for the truncated Andhra Pradesh state would be set up near Vijayawada.
Though the civic body invited requests for the proposal (RFP) from the government empanelled consultants a year ago and selected one of them for the preparation of the CMP, it had to halt the process as the Centre had not given its approval.
According to the officials, the Union government and the VMC would bear the expenditure for the preparation of the CMP in 80:20 ratio and it is said that the preparation of the CMP would cost around `1 crore.
Meanwhile, a senior official with the VMC said that they are going to meet Union minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu who is scheduled to arrive here on August 16.
The objective of the study is to develop CMP for Vijayawada spreading across 425 sqkm including some villages in and around the city with all modes, including footpaths for pedestrians, separate tracks for cyclists, Inter-mediate Public Transport (IPT), public transport and canal navigation to achieve convenient and cost effective accessibility to places of employment and education with optimal utilisation of funds and human resources. Speaking to Express, VMC commissioner C Harikiran said that the objective of the CMP was to provide a long-term strategy for a desirable mobility pattern for the city.
The population of the VMC after merging 45 villages as per the 2011 census would be 14,92,560. The possibility of tramway, light rail and metro rails would also be explored in the study.
The consultant will have to recommend a commercially viable, state-of-the-art transport network based on an urban transport planning model that would be suitable for Vijayawada transport planning needs.
“We have included a clause about lowering the carbon emissions in the terms and conditions for the consultants who prepare the CMP,” said a senior official.