Discipline must to decongest roads: Muktesh Chander

Even as the city gears up for second leg of much talked about odd-even road rationing plan, special commissioner of police (traffic)

Muktesh Chander

interacts with

Mohit Sharma

about the challenges Delhi faces and why the odd-even plan alone cannot solve the problems of traffic and pollution completely.

Q: To start with, a very common question of traffic becoming more and more menacing for commuters in the city

A:

There are a number of issues that contribute to such a problem, including the ever-increasing number of vehicles on roads, increase in human population, shrinking road lengths, public transport. If at peak hours there is bumper-to-bumper traffic, it is clear that the road length is unable to take the volume of traffic. All these problems together lead to traffic jams in the city.

Q: What are your plans to combat it A: From time to time, we keep on taking steps to find a way to decongest the city roads. Though there are several decisions being pondered upon, one is of prime importance. We have identified 14 points in the city which require structural changes and every agency, including civic bodies, will have a role to play in executing them. We have already brought to the notice of urban development ministry these 14 points and are also seeking engineering expertise for suggestions and better executions.

Q: Can you mention some of the points out of 14 that you have identified A: Dhaula Kuan is one as it faces heavy traffic jams at the red signal near the Metro station. Now, the structural change that intersection requires is construction of a clover leaf so that the commuters, who have to go right towards Janakpuri (who actually are in majority) can take the clover leaf, decongesting the road to airport to a very large extent. Another point is the Uttam Nagar intersection, which has a bus stand situated at the spot where traffic merges from all directions, causing huge traffic snarls. Besides, there is a lot of encroachment on that intersection. So, there are a lot of enforcement issues as well. Khanpur T-point at the end of the BRT corridor is another junction where there is a bus stand located at a crucial point. If some of these issues can be taken care of, it will certainly help in achieving our objective of decongesting roads. Shrinking of six-lane roads to four lanes at some important spots like ISBT, cause bottlenecks as well.

Q: Do you think that dismantling the BRT corridor would help decongesting traffic on that road A: Let the work finish first. There is a lot yet to be done from installing new signals to mark lanes. Besides, the curve stones on the central verge are still there and have not been removed.

Q: There is a problem that commuters often complain about of inappropriate signal system at some intersections which halts the traffic going right choking the traffic. What do you have to say about it A: That is a more of a discipline problem. It is important to mention that discipline plays a very major role while dealing with traffic. As most of the traffic at these signals is to go straight, the right turn is stopped after a while. But, commuters who have to go right block the entire passage, not allowing others to go straight or take left.

Q: How much do you think discipline is important A: It is very important and I think to maintain that heavy penalty is a must. Take the example of the odd-even scheme. As the penalty was Rs 2,000, everybody obeyed it. I can tell you if the challan would have been Rs 100 the odd-even (scheme) would have failed miserably. Now, the Delhi high court has directed prosecution of commuters driving on the wrong side and we will do it and certainly you will see the change. The problem is that we are still following the challan amounts decided upon in 1988 Act. I think, it should be multiplied at least 10 times now. Only then commuters will behave in a disciplined manner on the road. You cannot expect a person driving a Mercedes to think twice before breaking a rule if he knows that the fine is just Rs 100.

Q: Since you mentioned about odd-even road rationing policy, are you ready for the plan’s second stint from April 15 to 30 A: We are always prepared for that and always will be.

Q: Do you think it decongested roads between January 1 to 15 A: If you remove even 5 per cent of the cars from the roads, of course, it will give some relief. But our concern is with the long list of exemptions. Besides public transport should also be strengthened as without it no such policy can survive for long. The question here is about the permanence. Can odd-even be imposed perpetually If yes, then certainly it will yield better result results.

Q: There were reports that the Delhi government was contemplating removal of women from the exemption list. Do you think that would have been a step in the right direction A: In this case, the safety of women is also involved and, therefore, I will not comment on that. But, the shorter the list, the better.

Q: What do you have to say about feasibility of odd-even policy in other metro cities A: It is not the question of feasibility. It is about the alternative you are giving to the commuters. It is like if you stop someone from eating non-vegetarian, how would you ensure that adequate protein is given. What will be the alternative It is same with the odd-even plan where it is enforced.

Q: There has been a spurt in incidents of road rage involving traffic policemen What do you have to say about that A: That is a human problem. If someone is adamant on misbehaving and not abiding by the law, he/she can only be handled through provisions of the IPC. When one is driving, one should be tolerant and should have mental peace. You should leave all your personal and professional tensions aside while driving. We keep on issuing advisories through Facebook urging commuters to keep away from incidents of road rage. My suggestion would be to let go of small things that occur on roads. They are inevitable. They should be ignored.

Q: To what stage has your plans to use helicopters reached A: It was a success when we used it during the festive season. We are preparing a comprehensive plan for a full year, which will be proposed to ministry of home affairs (MHA) for approval soon.

Q: Are you planning to buy or take helicopters on rent A: We will take them on rent as it involves huge maintenance cost. For now, we have decided to pay the rent for whatever we have at our disposal. We are in the process of identifying the occasions and events for which we will use them. The use of helicopters for managing traffic is very prevalent across the globe. For instance, in Los Angeles, where I visited recently, the population is much less than in Delhi and still they have 35 helicopters at their disposal with a helipad on the top of the police headquarters. They have their own pilots too. Of course, we cannot reach that stage all of a sudden and it will take some time, but till then we can take them on lease to serve our purpose.

Q: What do you have to say about the acute staff shortage that the traffic police is grappling with A: As per the BPR&D norms, we are understaffed by at least 10,000 personnel. In a recent proposal, we have sought at least 6,000 which would double our existing strength and which is also the need-of-the-hour as the two-shift system is important to manage traffic in a city like Delhi, which is running 24 hours a day.