Amidst the new Metro project in Gurgaon, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority has said it is planning to augment the mobility aspect by working on motorised and non-motorised transport. Following a meeting with officials of the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) and the World Bank, CEO GMDA P C Meena discussed the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy of Haryana and other key aspects of the Comprehensive Mobility Management Development Plan. He said that the upcoming Metro will boost connectivity within the city and the GMDA will work to provide supporting infrastructure development to optimise the benefit of the metro services. “TOD is an important aspect in ensuring financial sustainability and stability of the project and GMDA, being the nodal department for mobility development in Gurugram, will coordinate with all departments concerned in taking the metro project forward successfully,” said Meena. The team from the World Bank delivered a presentation on how TOD can be applicable to the metro project. The meeting also discussed last-mile connectivity within the city and regarding the engagement of city buses to plug the gap, along with other initiatives. CEO Meena said that as per the Comprehensive Mobility Management Development Plan prepared for Gurgaon and Manesar to facilitate long- and short-term interventions to improve mobility between 2021 and 2041, special focus on developing pedestrian pathways and cycle tracks has already been taken up by the Authority to strengthen non-motorised transport in the city. He added that to provide greater connectivity with metro stations and augment the use of public transportation via the rail network, GMDA will realign its micro-mobility planning to boost high-quality integrated multi-modal transport system for the optimum use of facilities by the residents. The TOD policy integrates land use and transport planning and focuses on the creation of high-density mixed land use development in the influence zone of transit stations, which is within walking distance of the transit station or along the vicinity of the metro corridor. TOD promotes densification in the influence area by providing a higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR)/ Floor Space Index (FSI) and higher population and job density as compared to the areas around and beyond the influence areas. This will promote a higher concentration of people within the walking distances of transit stations, thereby increasing the ridership of the public transport and resulting in increased fare revenue and congestion reduction. He outlined that certain key metro stations in the new corridor such as sector 29, Subhash Chowk, among others can be leveraged for TOD Schemes by HMRTC and such locations may be identified for further implementation of the policy. The Gurugram metro project recently approved by the Union Cabinet will connect Old and New Gurugram and the metro route will include Sector 45, Cyber Park, Sector 46, Sector 47, Sector 48, Technology Park, Udyog Vihar Phase 6, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai, Sector 9, Sector 7, Sector 4, Sector 5, Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, Krishna Chowk, Palam Vihar Extension, Palam Vihar, Sector 23 A, Sector 22, Udyog Vihar Phase 4, and CyberHub.
