<span class="gmail_quote"></span><span class="gmail_quote">11 May 2007<br><br><br>Forwarded by my colleague Mr Ravi Bhagwat...<br><br>Knowing how fickle our politicians are, it may take months for this to happen but at least they are saying the right things....which I must admit is music to our ears... <br>:-)<br><br>--<br>Sujit<br><br>Sujit Patwardhan<br>Parisar/PTTF<br>Pune, India<br><br><br><br><br><br></span><div><strong>Pay more to drive around Colaba</strong></div> <div> <div><span style="text-align: right;"></span> </div> <div><span style="text-align: right;">R a j a t G u h a & M K Ve n u </span><span style="text-align: right;">NEW DELHI<br><a href="mailto:rajat.guha@timesgroup.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> rajat.guha@timesgroup.com</a></span> </div> <div> </div> <div>FORGET Shanghai for a moment. <span>Mumbai</span> may soon resemble London when it comes to traffic, and more importantly, <span> congestion</span> charges. The government has proposed that states should levy a 'core area charge' for mega cities to reduce traffic <span>congestion</span>. If implemented, you may have to pay a special levy to drive into Colaba in South <span>Mumbai</span>, or Connaught Circus, the heart of the Indian capital. And that's not all. You may have to pay more for parking your car at such premium locations.<br><br> </div> <div>Delhi and some other states are considering this proposal in order to decongest several key cities, while <span>Mumbai</span> and Bangalore have also been asked to follow the same model. Already, some European cities, including London, are levying decongestion charges for driving into the heart of the city. <br><br> </div> <div>The government plans to link this proposal to the Urban Renewal Mission for infrastructure funding. Some key points in major metropolitan cities like Connaught Place in Delhi, MB Road in Bangalore, and Colaba and Andheri in <span>Mumbai</span> have been facing chaotic traffic.<br><br> </div> <div>The Delhi government is planning to substantially increase the parking fee and entrance charge in such core areas to decongest them. The idea is to encourage commuters to use shuttle services from nearby areas. A Delhi government official said the matter would be soon discussed in a Cabinet meeting. "In other parts of the capital, public land has been used by malls and shopping complexes for parking facilities. They should be taxed for using state-owned land," he said. <br><br> </div> <div>The urban development ministry would soon call a meeting with other states to discuss the proposal. "The proposal would form part of the National Urban Transport Policy after it is reviewed next month. This would be part of the state <span>tax</span>. States would be encouraged to undertake such levy in order to strengthen their revenue base. Taxing every second car in a same household would also be incorporated in the review," an official said. <br><br> </div></div> <div> <div></div> <div></div></div><br style="clear: left;"><br clear="all"><br><br>------------------------------------------------------<br>Sujit Patwardhan<br><a href="mailto:sujit@vsnl.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> sujit@vsnl.com</a><br><a href="mailto:sujitjp@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> sujitjp@gmail.com</a><br><br>"Yamuna", <br>ICS Colony, <br>Ganeshkhind Road,<br>Pune 411 007<br>India<br>Tel: 25537955<br>-----------------------------------------------------<br>Hon. Secretary:<br>Parisar<br><a href="http://www.parisar.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> www.parisar.org</a><br>------------------------------------------------------<br>Founder Member: <br>PTTF <br>(Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)<br><a href="http://www.pttf.net" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> www.pttf.net</a><br>------------------------------------------------------ <br clear="all"><br>-- <br>------------------------------------------------------<br>Sujit Patwardhan<br><a href="mailto:sujit@vsnl.com">sujit@vsnl.com</a><br><a href="mailto:sujitjp@gmail.com">sujitjp@gmail.com</a><br><br> "Yamuna", <br>ICS Colony, <br>Ganeshkhind Road,<br>Pune 411 007<br>India<br>Tel: 25537955<br>-----------------------------------------------------<br>Hon. Secretary:<br>Parisar<br><a href="http://www.parisar.org"> www.parisar.org</a><br>------------------------------------------------------<br>Founder Member: <br>PTTF <br>(Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)<br><a href="http://www.pttf.net">www.pttf.net</a><br>------------------------------------------------------