13 Indian cities among world’s most polluted
Thirteen Indian cities are among the world’s 20 most polluted, revealed the ‘2024 World Air Quality’ report released on March 11th by IQAir, a Swiss organisation. Ten cities, especially in the Indo-Gangetic region, are among the top 15 polluted cities of the South and Central Asian region. The list also features four cities in Pakistan and one in China.
Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world. Its issues are mainly the winter’s unfavourable weather, vehicular emissions, paddy-straw burning, firecrackers and other local pollutants.
A slight decrease in dangerous PM2.5 concentrations has upped India’s ranking from third in 2023 to fifth in 2024, but 35% of Indian cities reported annual PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the World Health Organisation (WHO) limit of five micrograms/cubic metre, says the report.
Source: Indian Express, Deccan Herald
Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill passed
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, intended to divide Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into smaller corporations. Its main purpose is to improve basic facilities, such as drinking water, sanitation and traffic, according to its main driver, the Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister, D K Shivakumar.
He said that multiple committees and seven city corporations will be formed to monitor infrastructure facilities. He added that representatives from Opposition parties can join in to discuss how to divide BBMP geographically.
However, Opposition leaders said the move would ‘shatter’ Kempegowda’s city and create pockets of uneven growth. Kannadigas would become minorities in some corporations. But those who favoured the Bill pointed out that it was essential, as the city had grown beyond the boundaries established by its founder, Kempegowda.
The Deputy Chief Minister added that the bill had been drafted after several rounds of deliberations with stakeholders and extensive consultations with citizens.
Source: Indian Express, Deccan Herald
Read More: Price of commute: Delhi’s mobility crisis is endangering citizens’ lives
Plans to decongest Delhi’s choke points
The Delhi government plans to decongest key choke points in the capital city, beginning with Dhaula Kuan, for commuters from Gurgaon and Delhi. The arterial stretch links South, Central and West Delhi to the IGI Airport and Gurgaon and gives connectivity to Dwarka.
During rush hours, it faces hour-long traffic jams. Some pain points in this stretch are Shiv Murti, Mahipalpur Road, Mahipalpur flyover and the Dwarka Expressway. In 2018-19, about 77 congestion points were identified, with Dhaula Kuan being a nodal spot.
A road safety committee has been formed to survey and analyse the choked stretches and find solutions. The committee is expected to start work soon by inspecting the stretch and analysing why traffic jams are taking place and which are the key choke points.
Before the polls, the government had promised that it would construct additional flyovers, tunnel roads and bypass routes to address traffic snarls at 117 congestion points
Source: Indian Express, The Times of India
Budget’s thrust on Mumbai’s development
In his ₹7.20 lakh crore 11th state budget for 2025-26, Deputy Chief and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar announced an Industrial Policy to attract ₹20 lakh crore in investments and create 50 lakh jobs. He highlighted that ₹64,000 crore would be invested in Mumbai’s infrastructure.
Other key points included completion of the Samruddhi Highway (Mumbai-Nagpur); seven commercial hubs to grow Mumbai’s economy from $140 billion to $300 billion and 237.5 km of metro routes in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
A significant announcement was the plan for Mumbai’s third airport near the upcoming Vadhavan Port in Palghar district, in which the State government holds a 26% stake. It is supposed to alleviate congestion at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the Navi Mumbai International Airport.
Source: LiveMint, CNBC
Read More: Commercial development plans for 17 Mumbai stations fail to impress commuters
Chennai’s new parking policy streamlines management
The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) rolled out its parking policy for the Metropolitan Area on March 11th, asking companies with more than 100 employees to draft travel demand management plans to stop them from driving cars to work.
The policy would boost shared rides, public transport, and even walking or cycling. However, employers would need to track where their employees live, how they commute, what vehicles they use and their travel times. Such data would help employers to enable better shuttle services to metro stations, suburban trains and bus stops.
Parking management, implementation, pricing and strategies would also be designed. The policy suggests a ‘proof of parking’ to validate availability of at least one off-street parking space for future registration of vehicles.
Area level parking management plans are to be created, as part of the new policy, which takes into account entire neighbourhoods for assessing demand and designating parking spaces. Earlier, sources said, parking management was done at the street-level, which often resulted in unregulated spillover to adjoining streets.
A Parking Management Unit (PMU) under CUMTA will oversee implementation, including fee collection, enforcement, and the development of multi-level car parks.
Source: Indian Express, The Hindu
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]