[sustran] training officials in public transport projects

[Vinay Baindur]

Rs.1400 crore for training officials in public transport projectsSpecial
Correspondent
[image: File picture of passengers occupying each and every inch of space in
and above a bus carrying commuters in Amritsar, Punjab. Photo: Akhilesh
Kumar]
The Hindu File picture of passengers occupying each and every inch of space
in and above a bus carrying commuters in Amritsar, Punjab. Photo: Akhilesh
Kumar

“I recently visited a major city that has no public transport system,” says
Union Minister for Urban Development Jaipal Reddy. “They have received
funding for buses under JNNURM [Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission], but those buses are just lying idle, because no one knows how to
put them to use.”

While Mr. Reddy did not name the city, sources in the Ministry say there are
JNNURM public transport projects in both Bihar and Punjab which have faced
such hurdles.

These are exactly the kind of hurdles that the Ministry hopes to overcome
through its Rs. 1,400 crore Sustainable Urban Transport Project, launched
earlier this week with assistance from the Global Environment Facility, the
World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme.

While one component of the scheme includes demonstration projects – bus
rapid transit systems, intelligent traffic management, encouragement for
pedestrians and cyclists -- in five mid-size cities, another key component
focuses on training the people who will actually implement such projects.

Over 1,000 urban transport professionals at the national, state and local
levels will receive such training. UNDP will assist in the creation of ten
manuals, standards and tool kits as well as the preparation of operational
and business plans for Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities and Urban
Transport Funds.

“When we launched JNNURM, we did not give enough importance to capacity
building,” said Mr. Reddy. “Now we have realised that it must go hand in
hand.”

The demonstration projects to create infrastructure encouraging green urban
transport will be implemented in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Indore, Naya Raipur
and Mysore. Other cities can apply for a World Bank loan to join the scheme
later.

On a different note, Mr. Reddy gave an assurance that all Commonwealth Games
projects in Delhi would be completed in the next three weeks. “As the
chairman of the Group of Ministers on the Commonwealth Games, and I have
full confidence that all projects related to the Games will be finished by
the end of June,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the launch event.

Keywords: public transport
projects<http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article453991.ece?css=print#>
, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission<http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article453991.ece?css=print#>
, Bihar<http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article453991.ece?css=print#>
, punjab<http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article453991.ece?css=print#>
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article453991.ece