CHENNAI: A draft legislation for creation of a unified transport planning body for Tiruchy has been prepared by the State Housing and Urban Development Department. According to official sources, the draft Act envisages to bring even the peripheral areas of the city into the ambit of the unified transport authority.
The main objective of such a unified transport authority was to improve the coordination between different government agencies and departments that deal with transportation in urban areas. For Chennai, a similar Act was passed in 2010. But the authority was never constituted.
According to official sources, the draft bill for creation of the Tiruchy Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority envisages extending the authority’s ambit beyond the urban limits of the city for better transport planning.
The Collector would be the chairperson of the governing board of the authority and he will have the deciding vote. Officials from the municipal corporation, police, revenue department, transport department, public works department, housing department, state road transport corporation, electricity board, local planning authority and water supply and drainage board will be members of the board.
The body is proposed as an autonomous one and is directly accountable to the State government. Besides the governing board, the UMTA will also have special invitees as board members. These include the Union Ministry of Urban Development, National Highway Authority, Airport Authority, Cantonment Board.
There is also a list of essential invitees, which also include the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchy. However, these special invitees won’t have voting right.The draft bill has suggested a mix of conventional and innovative funding sources, including cess on petrol and diesel and additional vehicle registration charges.
Road to better Facilities
A task force will be formed, with officials who have functional expertise in the areas under the purview of the UMTA and UTF and have domain expertise in the urban transport sector
It will have representatives from relevant departments at the local, state and national levels
Prior to drafting the UMTA legislation, the task force shall organise consultations with all stakeholders concerned for discussions on matters pertaining to UMTA
Customising the UMTA legislation, the task force will prepare the city-specific legislation, including UMTA structure, geographical coverage, powers and functions and funding source
The task force shall develop a note and refer the same for approval from the State’s Minister of Urban Development or Transport
The note will include need, scope and objectives of the proposed legislation and a copy of the draft of the proposed legislation
After the Minister’s approval, the task force will send the note to the Cabinet, incorporate any changes suggested by the Cabinet
After this, it will be sent to the State’s Legislative Assembly. The bill shall be tabled for introduction in the Assembly and thereafter published in the State gazette