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July 31, 2024Budget 2024-25: Striving for effective transit planning
India still lags in employing planners who have a multi disciplinary approach when planning a city.
As remarked in the Union budget 2024-25, cities are growth hubs of a country, and contribute substantially to the GDP of India. Efforts have been made to combat the challenges arising out of rapid urbanisation, such as traffic congestion and increased carbon emissions due to private vehicles, through various initiatives.
‘For creative brownfield redevelopment of existing cities with a transformative impact, our government will formulate a framework for enabling policies, market-based mechanisms and regulation’, says the Finance Minister in her budget speech 2024-25.
While the union budget did not have major announcements pertaining to the urban transport ecosystem than what was already allocated in the Interim Budget 2024-25, it is worthwhile to note the mention of market based mechanisms, transit oriented development (TOD) plans, and proper utilisation of town planning schemes.
With the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) having the second highest allocation of Rs 2.78 lakh crore in the Interim Budget, the priority towards highway construction and related road projects is now visible. But with the increased urbanisation and densification, the situation of city roads has been pathetic. Our budgeting often highlights that India is still motor centric in planning our roads rather than people-centric.
The budget 2024-25 has promised the creation of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plans for 14 major cities with a population above 30 lakh. These plans will include a strategy for implementation and finance. However, the integration of transport networks with land development has been a hassle in Indian cities for a very long time.
The failure of TOD policy in many states is attributed to this as well as the difficulties in land acquisitions. Different government bodies and parasatal agencies focus on multiple yet overlapping functions. For example, while the municipal corporations handle the Master Plan for the city, the Comprehensive Mobility Plan is under the purview of Metropolitan Transport Authority and the land comes under state purview.
Integrating these different schemes, plans and functions of different bodies and bringing them together could only achieve the vision of an effective TOD policy. Effective TOD policies would also ensure densification and create walkable cities. Pedestrian friendly infrastructure policies would facilitate last mile connectivity to public transport as a result of compact development.
The proper utilisation of town planning schemes, as quoted by the Finance Minister, is a need, but it is equally important to build capacity and sensitivity among the town planners responsible for the implementation of these schemes. India still lags in employing planners who have a multi disciplinary approach when planning a city. Often, civil engineers are hired, who focus on widening roads rather than addressing people friendly streets. This is also a consequence of India failing to provide academic courses that look into transport economics from diverse perspectives.
An analysis of the budget allocations of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) shows that there has been a total increase in funding from Rs 693 billion in 2023-24 to Rs 775 billion in 2024-25, representing a roughly 12-percent rise. The metro rail projects receive maximum allocations of around 33 percent. The metro institutions must focus on utilising these funds to ensure proper last mile connectivity initiatives and do proper feasibility studies to ensure the viability of the systems in the city.
The major scheme for urban bus transport in this budget is the PM e-bus seva scheme, approved by the cabinet in August 2023, with an allocation of Rs 13 billion, which is a substantial hike from last year. This scheme would enable the deployment of 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities.
It is also important to note that private players have an important role supporting the transition to e-buses through their participation and funding. The dominance of the private sector in the bus transport ecosystem in India is clear, as they own 92% of the total 2.2 million buses held by both public and private sectors.
According to the MoRTH’s Road Transport Year Book (2018-19), there are around 2 million private sector buses and 150,000 public sector buses. Although the private sector is dominant, the presence of laws and regulations that impede competition has restricted the availability of high-quality bus services. Private entities have encountered difficulties in acquiring and upkeeping electric buses.
Though we keep mentioning having market based mechanisms, we are far behind in empowering States to revisit the existing Motor Vehicles Act and Rules in a way that there is ease of operating and substantial financing options. The recent proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 have focused more on light motor vehicles, revision of fines, etc. than on restrictive policy measures that curb various transport operators from entering the market.
It is thereby necessary to revisit our policies and strategies in improving the public transport ecosystem in order to efficiently involve a market based mechanism.
This article is featured in The New Indian Express
(Lizbeth Godwin is Senior Research Associate, Centre for Public Policy Research.)
Views expressed by the author are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.
Lizbeth Jibi Godwin is Senior Associate- Research at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR). She completed her post-graduation in MSc. Economics with specialization in Urban Development from Symbiosis International University. She also worked with Stories Worth Sharing Organization, Delhi as their Associate Partner and was the City head of Trivandrum. Her key areas of research interest include Urban Mobility, Urban Governance and Behavioural Economics.
