PUNE: April is the cruelest month, said the poet. The Pune municipal corporation (PMC) sure must be nodding in agreement.A supreme court (SC)-appointed committee, set up to list ways for eight cities in the country to become 'cleaner, greener and traffic-friendly', gave a mammoth job brief to the civic body on Saturday.
The agenda: improve parking facilities by April-end, prepare a traffic and transportation plan by then, submit a report on converting all city buses to CNG (compressed natural gas) and ensure that all autorickshaws, more than 15 years old, operate on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) within the next six months.
These directives were issued by the committee after a three-hour discussion with representatives of the PMC, Regional transport authority (RTA) and the local officials of the Maharashtra pollution control board (MPCB). What's more, the committee members have decided to re-visit Pune in April to ensure that the directives are complied with. Headed by Bhure Lal, former secretary in the Central vigilance commission, the committee includes eminent environmentalist Sunita Narain.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Narain, who heads the Centre for science and environment (CSE), New Delhi, pointed out that the parking facilities in Pune were not proper. This often leads to congestion on city roads and air pollution.Subsequently, it has directed the PMC to formulate a policy to improve parking within the next two months and get the same executed before the committee re-visits the city in April.
On the city's public transport network also, the committee had strong views. "Everyday, 300 vehicles are added and this further aggravates air pollution in Pune..." Its suggestion was also equally strong. "We want a sound plan which can upgrade the bus service substantially... not just a proposal to purchase 100 or 200 new buses," Narain said. Directives on the conversion of the city's transport fleet into a CNG-based one and the upgradation of the pollution monitoring units were also given.
