Congestion tax on the table in smart city quest

PUNE: If the Centre has its way, maintaining private vehicles will be costly in the city.
The government has suggested that cities like Pune, which want to be smart cities, must address their traffic problems through policy interventions like imposing deterrent congestion charges, tax measures to restrain owning and using personal vehicles, promoting vertical construction for dense living and effective parking policies.
As the Centre readies the list of final 20 cities which will be part of Smart Cities Mission this year, the Union urban development department has hinted at some stringent steps which will have impact cities like Pune vying for a share in the pie.
Stating that mobility in urban areas of the country has become a harrowing experience, minister of urban development M Venkaiah Naidu called for radical changes in urban planning to ensure reliable, efficient and affordable public transport in urban areas.
The `Urban Mobility India Conference' in New Delhi attended by the minister and civic body representatives recently had a clear message for Pune ­ don't encourage private vehicles, improve public transport.
Naidu elaborated that the objective of developing smart cities is not to encourage use of private cars but to see that even car owners take to public transport. The minister said, “Mobility in urban areas is the key determinant of quality of urban life.For many , life in urban areas is a nightmare. People move out of homes, mostly to make a living and this is turning out to be harrowing experience“.
Expressing concern over rising motor vehicle population and its consequences like congestion lowering GDP by about 3.50%, rising accidents and air pollution, Naidu suggested proper integration of land use and transport planning, traffic demand management by increasing the cost of using private vehicles, promotion of efficient public transport and environment protection.
To address these issues, Naidu has suggested policy interventions like imposing deterrent congestion charges, tax measures to restrain owning and using personal vehicles, promoting vertical construction for dense living, effective parking policies etc.
Pune municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar during his interaction with TOI journalists agreed that the city needs to strengthen its public transport and also look for new modes of public transport. Kumar said that Pune Metro project was a step in this direction.
However, civic officials are anxious about the response of politicians and citizens to take measures to discourage use of private vehicles. A senior civic official, who played a key role in implementation of the JNNURM projects, said there will be strong opposition the moment government makes it mandatory for car owners to pay extra charges in any form.
“The JNNURM project made it mandatory to collect user charges from citizens, but it was impossible to implement this plan. If the government insists on imposing taxes on car owners, there will be opposition from all corners,“ he said.
Last year, the Centre had asked state governments to initiate steps to impose congestion charges. The advisory letter was directed to authorities to study the possibility of such charges in central business and congested areas of the cities.
The state governments then issued instructions to all the concerned authorities to identify the chaotic areas in cities, study the traffic congestion and consider adopting `congestion charges'. But the matter remains on paper till date.
However, citizens have a different take. “No one is happy to take a car or a bike to commute. We want to use public transport. But where is the public transport and where is the connectivity?“ technician Shreyes Deshpande said. He added that the civic body and the government are trying to put the onus on citizens for bad traffic.
“Let the government and the PMC fulfill their duties properly . We are already paying road tax and other taxes to the civic body and the state government. What all does the government expect us to do? We should give up our LPG subsidy , we should pay congestion tax, we should pay cleanliness tax? What is the government, civic babus with fat salaries and corrupt politicians doing to improve the situation?“ college student Adit said.