The Hindu : New Delhi News : Commercialisation along Metro routes wrong: experts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 25, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Commercialisation along Metro routes wrong: experts

Staff Reporter

`Announcements shouldn't be made without taking view of public'

NEW DELHI: Opposing blatant commercialisation along the Delhi Metro railway routes in the Capital, leading planners, experts and citizens have sought a proper impact assessment of the project and called for incorporating inputs from experts, local body area plans and public suggestions during execution of the remaining phases of the project.

At a seminar on "Metro and City: Citizens' Voices for the Road Ahead" organised here on Wednesday, the participants said the impact assessment programme should be urgently planned and implemented so that commercialisation due to Metro enhances the quality of life in the city. Time, they said, should be given for including the inputs received in the planning process and random announcements on extension should not be made without taking the view of the city authorities and the public into account.

With the Metro construction activity now spread over 205 km -- almost the distance from Delhi to Agra -- the speakers said there was a need for better monitoring of the project. "The concrete pillars and tracks provide ideal space for encroachments too. The process has already started along the Pusa Road tracks that are being used by slum dwellers and being used for cooking activities and parking of rickshaws right in the middle of the arterial road," said Alpana Kishore, a town planner and an expert with Hazard Centre.

K. T. Singh of the School of Planning and Architecture said that with cost recovery built into the Delhi Metro project, its financial projections themselves boost commercialisation. And so as against the Master Plan objective of decongestion by taking the development outward to the suburbs and nodal towns, the Metro project adds to congestion. Moreover, with development, he said, more and more people would be encouraged to migrate to Delhi as greater employment, leisure and entertainment options are created.

Leading conservationist and architect Ratish Nanda said that with the higher fares of Delhi Metro beyond their reach, the poor in the city still preferred taking buses as cost and not time was a priority for them. On sections where the Metro has to compete with buses, he said, restricted slabs for bus operations are needed till different Metro fare slabs are introduced. "Eliminating the buses is not correct as this leaves the poorer working population squeezed for choice."

"A varied mix of solutions for different sections of the population involving various factors such as fares, distance, time and quality would serve the city better than a one-size-fits-all Metro coverage. These should be planned while charting routes and seamlessly integrated together," he added.

The United Residents Joint Association (URJA) convenor Promod Chawla said since Delhi is an ancient city incorporating numerous historic cities, it deserves to be treated like a monument.

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