[sustran] Fw: World Bank assisted MUMBAI URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECT

[kisan mehta]

Dear Sustran Colleagues,

The World Bank has sanctioned a loan of US $ 542 
million for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) 
in Mumbai estimated to cost $ 945 million.     

Though claimed to have been evolved to support public transport, pedestrian safety and poverty reduction, the  
MUTP includes two super highways and three road 
overbridges having 6 and 8 lane carriageways passing 
through highly congested and poor slum areas.  Yet there 
is no provision to build pavements even though road 
width proposed can easily accommodate pavements of 
5 m width on two sides.   
 
Mumbai has very high SPM and PM10 levels.  Auto 
exhaust forms 80% of emissions to air.   About 65% of 
Mumbai's 12 million citizens live in slums facing zooming  vehicles on roads and public places. 

The project is developed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority with active help of the World Bank. .  The Bank policy does not allow assistance to projects that 
do not include pavements along with carriageways on roads . 

We give hereunder a news report of a meeting where  Mr.A.V.Ghangurde, Chief Traffic Planner for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Developement Authority and also 
the Chief Planner for the MUTP speaks on pavements.  
It would appear that the World Bank and Indian authorities  
have two sets of teeth like the elephant- one for showing 
and another for eating.  Best wishes.

Kisan Mehta and Priya Salvi        
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Mr P.G. Patankar, a former director of the Central Institute of Road 
Transport, said the pedestrian should be made the kingpin of the traffic system.But instead, priority was being given for motor cars which 
inflicted severe damage to the environment and the traffic system.
 
"The Indian Road Congress has laid down guidelines providing for 
footpaths of a particular width on roads. But these were not being followed, 
not even looked at by civic engineers in the country," said Mr.A.V.
Ghangurde, Chief Traffic Planner for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Developement Authority. 

While constructing new roads, footpaths should be built first and then the portion for the vehicular traffic, he said. Planning at railway stations 
showed no concern for pedestrians, there were no proper connections of footover bridges, particularly to the bus stops, Mr.Ghangurde said.
 
The flyovers constructed in Mumbai have also not integrated movement 
for pedestrians, now they are catering only to motor cars, he said. 
Moreover, 110 pedestrian subways should have been provided for 55 
flyovers. But not a single pavement is provided. The proximity of two 
flyovers to each other increased hazards for pedestrians, he said."

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