Chandrashekhar believes that the city will never taste the fruits of its infrastructure investments unless it rations the use of road space and private vehicles.
MUMBAI: When the Tatas launch their Rs1 lakh car some time next year, they could face a roadblock in Mumbai. T Chandrashekhar, who heads the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the agency entrusted with the task of implementing the city’s multi-crore infrastructure projects, says that he would be the first to file a public interest litigation (PIL) to stop the car’s rollout in the city.
Chandrashekhar believes that the city will never taste the fruits of its infrastructure investments unless it rations the use of road space and private vehicles. “The Tata car cannot be permitted (into the city) as it would choke up Mumbai. The low cost would mean that all those who can afford bikes will jump into the car segment. Then, no road space will be enough to hold the sea of vehicles. The city will be doomed,” he warns.
As metropolitan commissioner, Chandrashekhar is in charge of redeveloping 150 km of roads in Mumbai, which includes both the Eastern and Western Express Highways and the new east-west connecting roads – the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) and the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR). He wants the state government to initiate strict vehicle rationing.
“Today, people are buying vehicles like they purchase chocolates. Only those citizens who have parking space must be allowed to buy cars. There should be a fixed quota of new vehicles sold in Mumbai. And like London and Paris, the city must levy a congestion tax to de-clog the roads,” he adds. The MMRDA chief cautioned that in the next five years, all the roads and flyovers will be inadequate if vehicular growth is not controlled.
That apart, Chandrashekhar also wants to control the influx of job-seekers in Mumbai. He wants the city to introduce a work permit regime in Mumbai. “Only those having a work permit and a valid house must be provided basic amenities like ration card, telephone connection and power supply,” he said.
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