SRINAGAR: Despite mounting traffic congestion across metropolitan, tier two and tier three cities driven by a sharp rise in vehicle numbers, the Union government has acknowledged that there is no single national level strategy to address the problem, leaving congestion management and public transport expansion largely to States and urban local bodies.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said the Centre is aware of increasing traffic jams in cities, but its role is limited to approving specific infrastructure projects such as ring roads, bypasses and elevated corridors on national highways, in consultation with State governments. These interventions, he said, are aimed at decongestion and removal of choke points rather than comprehensive urban traffic management.
According to the minister, decisions on such projects are taken based on traffic density, speed drops, the number of roads entering and exiting cities, the condition of roads and alignment with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. However, the reply stops short of outlining any integrated, nationwide framework to curb congestion caused by unchecked urban vehicle growth.
On the question of future schemes for public transport infrastructure, the government emphasised that road transport and urban development fall under the State List, placing primary responsibility on States and Union Territories. The Centre said it plays a supporting role through policy guidance and limited funding, rather than direct implementation of urban transport systems.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the reply noted, has issued various guiding documents to help cities and States take steps to reduce pollution and traffic congestion. Yet, the government did not specify whether compliance with these guidelines is monitored or linked to funding, raising questions about their practical impact on the ground.
As evidence of progress, the government highlighted the expansion of metro rail systems. About 1,083 kilometres of metro rail network, including 55 kilometres of the Regional Rapid Transit System, is c urrently operational across 25 cities. In the Delhi National Capital Region alone, nearly 395.8 kilometres of metro network is functional, making it the largest such system in the country.
The Centre also pointed to the PM eBus Sewa Scheme, launched on August 16, 2023, to strengthen urban bus services through the deployment of electric buses under a public private partnership model. Under the scheme, 10,000 electric buses were proposed, of which 9,360 have so far been sanctioned.
