State’s reluctance to try Traffic Restraint Scheme irks HC

“By developing infrastructure you are not going to solve this mess,” observed a Division Bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice A R Joshi on Tuesday while reserving the case for judgment.

Appearing for the state government,advocate S K Nair submitted that various projects under Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) and Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) are under way and said the monorail and metro rail would be ready by the end of 2011.

Nair admitted that as of now,our transport system is not strong enough to take the load. He also submitted that TRS does not exist anywhere in the world.

He further contended that it will be difficult for the traffic police to tackle the situation as the entry of vehicles will have to be restricted based on their number plates.

Detaining vehicles would cause chaos as there is no parking space,Nair said. He,however,said BMC has already invited tenders for parking space for 1700 vehicles at Hutatma Chowk,Regal Junction and Cross Maidan.

However,in a written submission to the court,BEAG has stated that a similar TRS was applied in Beijing before the Olympic Games in 2008 and it was a success. TRS based on number plates are also operational in Manila,Mexico city,Bogota,Athens and various cities in Italy. This has resulted in significant reduction in congestion and air pollution,the submissions stated. Meanwhile,the court was also informed that the state cabinet will consider two other options in a bid to decongest the traffic in the city— by ensuring 20-year-old vehicles ply only during weekends and implementing High Occupancy Lane— and forward them to the Centre.

Justice Nazki asked why High Occupancy Lane (HOL) cannot be dedicated to buses. Counsel for petitioner BEAG,Shiraz Rustomjee,intervened and submitted that the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is something which has already been accepted by the state government and is overdue for implementation.

“At least let them say they will implement BRTS within a limited time period,” Rustomjee said. The Western India Automobile Association told the court that the motor industry provides 20 million jobs and passing an order restricting new vehicles won’t be a good option.