The Union Ministry of Urban Development (UDM) has raised objections to the constitution of the Delhi Urban Mass Transit Authority (DUMTA), which was envisioned to maintain coordination between the city Transport Department and the Traffic Police. According to the Ministry, DUMTA lacks ‘vision and intention.’ Transport Minister Ramakant Goswami had recently written a missive to the Government seeking revival of the umbrella body, DUMTA, to bolster public transportation.
In his letter to the UD Minister, Goswami had stressed on the need to bring together multiple bodies such as the Transport Department, Traffic Police and civic bodies for better regulation and enforcement of traffic. “The Ministry has contended that DUMTA has not been set up adhering to the Urban Transport Policy of 2006. The umbrella body, which brings together several agencies, should be backed by a professional body. This professional body should profess the capacity to make scientific assessment of the demands on various routes and contract services which can be properly maintained,” said an official.
According to officials, the Ministry has raised objections to the vast ambit of the body without which the supposed integration in the urban mobility sector cannot be achieved. “In a letter to the State Government, the UDM has maintained that DUMTA lacks vision and intention. The title itself implies that it deals with only mass transits, i.e., the wide set of fundamentals like land use, transport integration, road planning, maintenance of the infrastructure, pedestrianisation, cycling and par-transit would be out of the ambit of DUMTA.
The umbrella body is envisaged to regulate the overall performance of the Public Transport System and ensure that Delhi has a comprehensive public system,” added the official. Sources said that the recent constitution of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to look after the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) project is also serving as an impediment for the formation of DUMTA. The Delhi Government had planned to revive DUMTA Act 2009, which will facilitate coordination between the Transport Department and the Traffic Police. The decision was taken in the backdrop of the reprehensible December 16 gang-rape, which brought to fore the poor coordination between the two bodies. It was hoped DUMTA will bring all agencies under one roof for better enforcement of traffic.