More support to Urban Public Transport in India

New Delhi, June 9 (ANI): Union Minister of Urban Development Jaipal Reddy on Wednesday said the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) aims at long-term strategy to empower planners, decision makers and other professionals by building their capacity, in planning and implementation of Green Urban Transport Project.

"There is urgent need to shift from personalised transport to public transport, the project has been initiated with this objective only. He said that the Government has given very high priority to improved urban transport since the launching of JNNRUM," said Reddy while launching the project here today.

"More than 12,000 buses have been sanctioned for select 60 cities under the mission for the improvement of public transport, efforts for capacity building for the better public transport are also being made. Independent transport authority should be set up in each major city for the better governance and planning of public transport" he added.

The Ministry of Urban Development launched the Rs.1400 crore Green urban transport project called Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) with assistance from Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Under the project, green urban transport will be introduced in selected cities to overcome the pollution and other hazards of existing urban transport including traffic congestion impedances for pedestrians.

Four such demonstration projects have already been commenced in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune (Maharashtra), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Naya Raipur (Chattisgarh) and Mysore (Karnataka). (ANI)