Delhi govt forms task force to set up unified metropolitan transport authority in capital

Delhi government has formed a 21-member task force to set up a unified metropolitan transport authority and a dedicated fund to address the mobility needs of the city’s growing population, officials said on Saturday.

The task force, headed by the chief secretary, will finalise the structure of the Delhi Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority (DUMTA), institutional arrangements, geographical coverage and composition of a DUMTA Board, they said.

“The increased population, pollution, pressure on roads and elevated demand of streamlined and organised public transport in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) has necessitated setting up of a Delhi Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority,” said a notification.

The proposed DUMTA will prepare a comprehensive strategic mobility plan, establish effective co-ordination among various urban transport agencies in Delhi-NCR, and manage a Delhi Urban Transport Fund (DUTF), it said.

The task force will also assist in the enactment of a DUMTA Bill in consultation with stakeholders, including the state and Central agencies, private and public institutions and local associations.

It will also organise Board meetings to identify and finalise the vision, mission and goals of the new transport authority, it said.

Additional chief secretary of the urban development department will be member secretary of the task force. Administrative secretaries of transport, finance, planning and PWD will be its members.

Delhi Development Authority vice-chairman; commissioners of Delhi Police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi; tourism secretary; Delhi Jal Board CEO; representatives nominated by the National Highways Authority of India, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Cantonment and NCR Planning Board; divisional manager of Northern Railways; managing directors of Delhi Transport Corporation, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and National Capital Region Transport Corporation will also be members of the task force.

The chairman of the task force will include two to three subject matter experts in the field of urban transportation as its members, said the notification.

The task force will submit its report on the formation of DUMTA and DUTF to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor within three weeks, it added.