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Puducherry Gazette · Government of Puducherry

NOTIFICATION:(G.O. Ms. No. 7/Tr. Sectt./2017, dated 2nd August 2017) Formulation of Transport Policy for implementation in the Union territory of Puducherry.

Published 09 August 2017

Department
TRANSPORT SECRETARIAT
Type
Extraordinary
Gazette no.
52
Part
II
Identifier
in.gazette.puducherry.2017-08-09.extraordinary-ii-issue-52
Languages
English, Tamil, French
Published at
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▪   2017 } | 9 { No. 52 Poudouchéry Mercredi 9 Août 2017

No. Puducherry Wednesday 9th August 2017

( 18 Sravana 1939 )

GOVERNMENT OF PUDUCHERRY

TRANSPORT SECRETARIAT

(G.O. Ms. No. 7/Tr. Sectt./2017, Puducherry, dated 2nd August 2017)

NOTIFICATION

The Lieutenant-Governor, Puducherry is pleased to approve the proposal for formulation of Transport Policy for implementation in the Union territory of Puducherry as detailed in the Annexure appended herewith.

2. This notification shall come into force with immediate effect.

(By order of the Lieutenant-Governor)

CHAURE RATNAGHOSH KISHOR, Under Secretary to Government (Transport).

[ 1075 ] 1076 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

ANNEXURE

TRANSPORT POLICY

FOR THE UNION TERRITORY OF PUDUCHERRY

Introduction:

The erstwhile Administration of the territory of French establishments in India taken over by the Government of India in terms of the De-Facto Agreement, dated 21st October 1954, signed between the Government of India and the Government of France became as "Union territory of Puducherry". Accordingly, the Union territory of Puducherry is administered under the provisions of Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (No. 20 of 1963).

The Union territory of Puducherry consists of 4 regions viz., Puducherry including the outlying regions of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam, lying geographically separated from one another. The Puducherry region which is on the South East Coast is about 160 kms. South of Chennai is the Capital of the Union territory of Puducherry, consists of 12 scattered areas interspersed as enclaves within Villupuram and Cuddalore Districts of Tamil Nadu State.

The Karaikal region which is about 160 kms. South of Puducherry, is surrounded by the Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu. The Yanam region is located about 840 kms. North East of Puducherry near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. The Mahe region lies almost parallel to Puducherry 650 kms away on the Western Side near Tellicherry in Kerala State.

The Union territory of Puducherry is 490 sq. kms. in area with a population of 12.48 lakhs as per the 2011 Census. The Region-wise break up of population is as follows:

Region Area Population Literates

(sq. kms.)

Urban Rural Total

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Puducherry 294 6,57,209 2,93,080 9,50,289 7,26,649 (69.16%) (30.8%) (76.47%)

Karaikal 157 98,102 1,02,120 2,00,222 1,54,916 (49.0%) (51.0%) (77.37%) 1077

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(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Mahe 9 41,816 – 41,816 36,470 (87.22%)

(100%)

Yanam 30 55,626 – 55,626 39,274 (70.60%)

(100%)

Total 4 9 0 8,52,753 3,95,200 12,47,953 9,57,309

(68.33%) (31.67%) (76.71%)

The Union territory of Puducherry which is highly urbanized with an Urban Population of 68.33%, is the third most densely populated State/Union Territory in India, with a per-capita income of ` 1,75,006 as per the 2014-15 Advance Estimates. The present economy of the Union territory of Puducherry thrives on Secondary and Tertiary Sector.

The Union territory of Puducherry has a road network of 2,860 kms. of which 65 kms are National Highways, 85 kms. are State Highways, 39 kms. are Major Roads, 288 kms. are other district roads, 254 kms are rural roads. The road network within the custody of Local Bodies are 2,150 kms.

The Union territory of Puducherry has a rail network of 22 kms. belonging to Southern Railways. The Puducherry, Karaikal and Mahe regions are served by the Southern Railways. The Yanam region has no direct rail connectively, though it can be accesses from Kakinada served by South Eastern Railways. The Union Territory has 9.87 lakh Registered Motor Vehicles as on 31st March, 2017.

The Union territory of Puducherry has one minor Airport and

minor Port at Puducherry and a Private Port at Karaikal.

2. Necessity for Transport Policy.— Transport plays an important role in the economic development of any region. Economic growth resulting in any higher incomes and rising living standards is expected to create greater demand for travel for both work and non-work/leisure purposes. This in turn can create congestion and reliability problems on the transport network, increasing costs on business and damaging quality of life and therefore, interventions are required to break this vicious circle.

1078 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

The Union territory of Puducherry because of its high urbanization and historical importance attached to its evolution, attract more travel demands but, lacks co-ordinated supply of transport infrastructure to satisfy the accessibility and mobility requirements for passenger and goods travel. Transport supply is mostly dependent on the road transport system with very meagre contribution from other sectors such as Railways, Airways and Waterways.

The socio-economic sustainable development of this region requires a cohesive policy to guide and synchronise the transportation planning and development of the region. The projects related to transport sector are carried out in piecemeal nature and lack holistic approach to ensure the symbiotic growth of all transport modes. Hence, an Integrated Multi Modal "Transport Policy" is necessitated to build efficient and sustainable Multi Modal Transport System in the Union territory of Puducherry.

3. Challenges Faced.— The Union territory of Puducherry faces the following challenges which need to be addressed for its sustainable economic growth:–

(i) Transport Infrastructural capacity is inadequate to meet the future travel demands, which will increase the cost of transportation for passengers and goods and endanger the economic growth potential;

(ii) Efficiency of logistic services is hampered by lack of suitable multi modal facilities and competent service providers endangering the envisaged economic diversification and consequent sustainability of the economic growth potential;

(iii) Increasing urbanization will significantly further pressurize

the urban mobility system endangering the urban competitiveness;

(iv) The role of public transport system has to be strengthened and developed for the affordable and accessibility needs of the bulk of the population and support the opportunities for individual development and consequent economic growth;

(v) The increasing demand for mobility driven by the envisaged population growth and economic growth is likely to impact the safety of the transport system significantly i.e., the more users, the higher the likelyhood of accidents and fatalities, which endangers the quality of life;

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(vi) The increasing demands for mobility is also likely to impact the environment significantly through emissions endangering the quality of life;

(vii) Due to high density of the urban population, the land acquisition poses a crucial problem for the development of transport system. Hence, a long-term action plan for identifying priority transport development schemes and projects to ensure adequate Right of Way (RoW) and financial resources for timely implementing these transport projects needs to be prepared;

(viii) Fiscal constraints have reduced infrastructure spending and for updation of transport system, necessary measures to mobilize the public finances and increase alternative financing sources for the sustainable development of the transport system is necessary.

4. Vision Statement.— The vision of the Government of Puducherry in the Transport Sector is to "Shape a modern, efficient, economical and safe transportation system that balance the needs of the economy, society and the environment and to meet the mobility needs of all sectors of the people by 2036".

5. Objectives.— The Transport System of Union territory of Puducherry will be designed, developed and managed to fulfill the above stated Vision Statement for fulfilling the following objectives:

(a) Support economic growth : In the Union territory of Puducherry, the road transport is by far the dominant mode for transport but, public transport plays a marginal role wherein movement through rail, air and water are very meager. The ultimate aim this policy objective is to promote a shift of demand from road transport to public and rail transport for de-congesting the road networks and stimulate economic growth. The transport infrastructure will be expanded to accommodate demand by ensuring adequate Level of Service (LoS).

(b) Stimulate economic diversification : Due to growing urbanization with limited geography, the thrust of the Government is already towards secondary and tertiary sector of the economy. In order to stimulate the economic diversification, it is essential to improve in the most cost effective manner by improving the efficiency and quality of transport. The Government of Puducherry would facilitate trade by 1080 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

removing capacity constraints, streamlining the border crossing procedure and developing necessary logistics infrastructure and supply chain management.

(c) Maintain urban competitiveness : One of the factors that will be critical in determining the success in transitioning to an industry and service based economy will be the extent to which its cities are an attractive place for business to locate and equally important for the employees of these business to live in. One important factor in the making of this choice is the quality of the transport system serving the cities. Thus, improving the Transport system in the urban region is going to be an important factor in the future economic growth of Union territory of Puducherry.

(d) Support Social inclusion : The Public Transport System which plays a key role in supporting social inclusion, requires more improvement in terms of coverage, performance and capacity in this Administration. If, minimum acceptable waiting time for access to the Public Transport System and the coverage of the system is improved in an attractive manner, people will have cost effective choices in selecting their mode of travel.

(e) Protect people : A "Safe Transport System" as per the Road Safety Policy of the Government will be established and actions will be taken to prevent accidents and minimize the number of potential victims and destruction of property to ensure the productivity of the citizens.

(f) Protect environment : Globally the debate on climate change is raging and societies are aiming at reducing the level of emission as well as abating its consequences. The Government of Puducherry will attend to reduce the effects of emissions of green house gases caused by the transport of goods and peoples.

(g) Ensure sustainable spending : The World Bank study suggests that in order to have a sustainable economic growth of 7.5 %, the investment required for infrastructure development is 7.5% of the GDP, of which 2.5% is to be towards the Road Sector. The Government of Puducherry will ensure that decision on investment and expenditure are financially sustainable and that use of alternative financing sources is optimized and ensure an annual infrastructure spending of 2.5% of GDP whether publicly or practically funded on improving the transport system of the territory.

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6. Strategies.— The strategy for achieving the above objective would be to promote quality infrastructure support for improving the

connectivity and transportation of humans and goods to sustain high growth rate of GDP, to develop integrated and multi-modal transport

system with emphasis on mass rapid transport such as railways, to promote public transport and requisite quality of service to discourage

personalized transport, to promote quality and productivity of goods transportation and infrastructure, to ensure availability of adequate

trained manpower, promote road safety, traffic management and post-accident trauma care, to promote sustainable road transport with

special emphasis on energy efficiency, environmental conservation and least negative social impact, to promote increasing use of modern

technology and research/scientific studies in transport development; and to strengthen the database collection and management system to assist

in continued policy and performance evaluation.

7. Sub-sector policies.— The sub-sector wise broad policy

objectives and strategies to meet the desired Vision Statement are described as under:–

7.1 Roads : The Puducherry region is served by NH45A and

NH66. The Karaikal region is served by NH45A. The Mahe region is served by NH17 and the Yanam region is served by NH21A. The total

length of National Highways is only 65Kms. out of a total road network of 2,860 kms. The volume by capacity ratio of all roads are reaching the

saturation level due to heavy urbanisation. Almost 90% of the road network have a Right of Way of less than 20.0 mts.

7.1.1 Objectives : (i) The highways, intra-city and inter-city road network will be developed to National Standards with all

modern facilities to provide faster connectivity to growth and activity centres in the State.

(ii) To ensure proper upkeep of precious road asset and reduce

accident risk.

7.1.2 Strategies : (i) Lack of adequate Right of Way (RoW) is the major reason for the tardy development of roads in the State.

The Government will initiate advance and long-term master plans and action plans for identifying the road network system 1082 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

development at regional level and acquire the required Right of Way (RoW) in different areas after considering all aspects of existing and proposed land uses in these regions.

(ii) In order to ensure availability of adequate Right of Way for future road development, the Government will freeze construction activities along the proposed road alignment selected for improvement at the existing level. Necessary legal framework will be effected for this purpose immediately.

(iii) The Government will take steps for construction of elevated corridors if sufficient land is not available. Necessary fly overs/ under passes, clover leaf interchanges, bypasses and elevated lanes at vantage locations will be constructed.

(iv) The roads will be developed with equitable allocation of road space. Urban arterial roads will be widened to four lane divided carriageway with provision for median, cycle track, footpath and green cover. Sub-arterial road will have minimum 2-lane carriageway and local roads will have minimum intermediate lane carriageway. Integrated network for pedestrians and non-motorized traffic will be established.

(v) The Government will participate in the central road construction programmes under Central Road Fund (CRF), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Smart City/Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Economic and Interstate connectivity schemes, etc., in a big way without causing delay in project implementation.

7.2 Road maintenance :

7.2.1 Objectives :

(i) The condition of the road affects the vehicle operation cost which is an important component of the road transport cost. If, timely maintenance is not carried out, the asset will deteriorate over the period and render service less.

7.2.2 Strategies :

(i) The Government will give top priority to maintain the precious road assets and norms for maintenance of all categories of roads to keep them in good level of service will be notified.

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(ii) The Government will introduce Pavement Management System (PMS) and Bridge Management System (BMS), mechanization in maintenance, maintenance by contract and corridor management approach for maintenance of arterial and sub-arterial roads under Public Works Department.

(iii) The Government will encourage construction of rigid pavement on areas prone to flood and high traffic intensity so as to minimize recurring maintenance cost and obstruction to traffic movement while repairs;

(iv) The Government will encourage transferring the responsibility of maintenance of local roads with the people who live on the street or other registered agencies who have interests to put up hoardings/advertisement, etc.,

7.3 Public Transport : It is a well known fact that public transport occupies less road space and cause less pollution per passenger km. than personal vehicles. As such, public transport is a more sustainable form of transport. The changing composition of vehicle population over time reflects in increasing importance of personalized mode (Cars-two wheelers) of transport vis-a-vis public bus road transport mode. While the motorized vehicle population grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of close to 35% in the Union territory of Puducherry, the growth of public transport vehicles is very meager. Only 0.38 buses are available per 1,000 population.

7.3.1 Objectives:

(i) To revamp public transportation system to increase its share from existing 20% of total passenger traffic to 50% in 2036.

(ii) Reduce dependency on personal transport and increase the share of railways in inter-state and inter-city transport and that of buses in intra-state and intra-city transport.

7.3.2 Strategies:

(i) The Government will encourage rail based public transport system for inter-city travel which is cost effective and environment friendly. In order to strike the appropriate 1084 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

modal balance between public transport and personalized transport, public transport system that is used by common mass will get maximum attention of the Government.

(ii) Encouragement will be given for investment in rail-based urban transport systems in congested inter/intra city routes and introduce High-speed intercity passenger rail service and sub-urban rail system on main line routes.

(iii) Even after construction of rail based Mass Rapid Transit system, the bus transport system will continue to play the role of main mass transport system provider for intra-city routes covering urban core and rural areas in the state. Government will ensure availability of all category of buses on all intra-city and rural routes at convenient schedules to the public.

(iv) The Government will encourage public sector bus transport service provider i.e., the proposed Puducherry Urban Transport Agency (PUTA) and Puducherry Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) with more autonomy to enhance efficiency in operation, management of the system, passenger information system, rationalization of routes and initiating other innovative operational methods to improve its financial viability.

(v) The operational structure of the public and the private stage carriages system will be further streamlined to attract commuters towards public transport. The Government will encourage introduction of new generation cleaner energy buses to reduce pollution level. The share of public transport buses in the total stage carriage services will be increased from the present 20% to 50% by 2036.

(vi) Public transport will get preferential treatment in the tax

structure as compared to personalized transport.

7.4 Urban Transport : About 70% of the people live in urban area and the divide between urban and rural is getting marginalised due to economic development. Due to lack in proper coverage of public transport services and lack of reliability and connectivity, the personalized transport demand is ever increasing in urban areas.

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The narrow urban arterial and sub-arterial roads are flooded with

all type of vehicles ranging from buses, trucks, two-wheelers, cars

and cycles and the average speed of traffic flow is less than

20 kmph. The buses on these roads are forced to crawl behind auto

rikshaws, cycles or any other slow vehicles due to absence of

adequate Right of Way. This is affecting the economic performance

of the intra-city bus transport and the commuters gradually lose

confidence in the public transport system and choose alternative

costly and unhealthy modes such as parallel services of autos and

two wheeler, etc.,

7.4.1 Objectives :

(i) The Government will take steps to discourage the tendency

among people to adapt to personal vehicles and instead

encourage mass transport facilities in urban areas.

7.4.2 Strategies :

(i) Construction of cost effective mass transport systems will

get priority in congested city routes. Even if the projects

do not turn out financially viable in the short run, the

Government will provide annuity to bridge the short-term

gaps in revenue.

(ii) Even after providing mass transport services the demand

for personal transport will be very high in urban regions

due to high per capita trip rate and less per capita trip

length. The urban transport infrastructure will be planned

to meet the long-term projected demand of the commuters

and other sections of the society.

(iii) Appropriate action will be taken to widen the existing

arterial and sub-arterial roads with provision for pedestrian

walking and crossing facilities, cycle tracks and off street

parking.

(iv) The existing road intersections will be redesigned to enable

them to cater to the projected demand. Grade separated

fly-overs/under passes will be constructed at all major road

intersections which carry more than 8,000 vehicles per hour.

1086 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

(v) A network of ring and radial roads, bypasses, link roads, fly-overs, multi level off-street parking facilities, pedestrial crossing facilities, etc., will be constructed in cities and towns to relieve traffic congestion around Central Business District (CBD) areas.

7.5 Intermediate Public Transport: Intermediate Public Transport (Para transit) is normally expected to fulfil a need that neither public transport or personal vehicles are able to fulfil. They normally should cater to a category of occasional trips and last mile connectivity trips. But, in Puducherry, the para transit is playing a competitive role with public transport system.

7.5.1 Objectives:

Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) modes such as Taxis, Auto rickshaws, share autos, mini-bus/tempo services, etc., will continue to play an important role even in future as feeder services to the main mass transport system and providing accessible movement in pre-designated areas. Their operation will be strengthened by proper regulation and discipline.

7.5.2 Strategies:

(i) The Government will encourage introduction of specially designed IPT vehicles such as e-rickshaw for improving road safety and emission levels.

(ii) The Government will encourage shared taxis, motor cycle taxis and other non-motorized vehicles to be used as IPT fleet at selected feeder locations.

7.6 Parking: Land is a valuable economic commodity and parking places occupy large portions of urban land. Due to urban developments, mixed land uses, the demand for on street parking space is growing and almost 40% of the road space is not available for the traffic. Roadside on street parking takes away much precious road space meant for traffic. Such parking also contributes to accidents and blocking of pedestrian walkways.

7.6.1 Objectives:

Encourage measures that allocate road space on a more equitable basis for road traffic rather than dead usage of valuable road space for parking purpose.

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7.6.2 Strategies:

(i) Building permits will be issued only after ensuring adequate in-house parking space for parking of the expected number of vehicles of the inhabitants, employees and visitors and in this regard appropriate legislation to prevent the use of the right of way on road systems for parking purposes will be notified.

(ii) For existing buildings and commercial complexes built without providing adequate parking space, such parking facilities will be built off-street by the Local Bodies at suitable locations and costs recovered from the building owners.

(iii) Open and multi-storied parking facilities will be constructed by the Government at important transport terminals, market centre's and multi-modal logistic centre's to promote inter-modal transportation.

(iv) Levy of high parking fee that truly represents the value of the land occupied will be used as a means to make use of public transport more attractive.

7.7 Rural Transport: The settlement pattern in Puducherry is unique in the Country with land islands interspersed with Tamil Nadu lands. The Right of Way of the roads, both structural and capacity-wise, are far from satisfactory which prevent introduction of buses in these routes.

7.7.1 Objectives:

(i) To ensure easy access and reliable public transport to all

classes of rural society.

(ii) To improve standards of rural roads connecting the

villages to allow bus services.

7.7.2 Strategies:

(i) The policy of the Government is to connect all villages/ Panchayats and settlements inhabited by more than 500 people with bus services. The roads in these areas will be widened to minimum 8 meters standard for extending the bus services.

1088 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

(ii) Coastal Highway and other District roads will be

developed to connect hitherto unconnected rural areas and they will be provided with the much needed public

transport services.

(iii) Low sized and low capacity mini buses will be introduced

in rural low density routes where road width is not sufficient for plying of large or medium size buses.

Intermediate Public Transport services such as 4 wheeled Cabs/Tempos/Vans/Mini Buses (with 5-15 passenger

capacity) will be encouraged to serve in identified rural routes as feeder services to the main arterial routes by

issuing special permits.

(iv) The fare rate will be determined separately for such

mini-bus services in rural areas depending on their financial viability. Government will consider giving tax

concessions to such vehicles to improve their operational efficiency.

(v) The Government will encourage battery operated/solar powered low capacity vehicles in rural areas by offering

special incentives.

7.8 Goods Transport:

The economic diversion towards Secondary and Territory sector has resulted in substantial amount of freight traffic. The demand

for construction activities from real estate and other sectors of the economy is also buoyant resulting in higher goods transportation.

There is a need to plan for inter-modal infrastructure for goods transportation by creating multi-modal transhipment terminals at

goods terminals.

7.8.1 Objectives:

(i) To ensure high quality goods transport service to the consumers through intermodal freight transportation and

strengthen its infrastructure development.

(ii) Provide barrier free movement of long haul goods vehicles

entering the state.

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7.8.2 Strategies:

(i) Goods transport by road/rail/coastal transport system will be modernized to facilitate their intermodal integration. Multi-axle trucks and container transport will be encouraged by creating necessary infrastructure, terminal facilities and wayside amenities for these vehicles and for their parking and servicing.

(ii) Speed Governors and Intelligent Transport System will be

adopted for smooth goods movement by road.

(iii) Introduction of Green channel will be considered for avoiding unnecessary detentions and harassments of vehicles at check posts. All check posts will be modernized with intelligent vehicle inspecting system to reduce detention period of vehicles for checking.

7.9 Motor Vehicles: The car and Two wheeler population is showing the trend of buoyant growth in recent decades and 80% of the registered motorized vehicles are personalized vehicles. Measures need to be taken to discourage use of personalized vehicles both from the angle of road safety, fuel economy and clean environmental standards.

7.9.1 Objectives:

(i) To arrest the trend for sharp-rise in private vehicle ownership in the state and improve driving skills and vehicle fitness to improve road safety.

(ii) To encourage cleaner eco-friendly and energy efficient vehicles and phase out old vehicles that pollute the environment.

(iii) To make issuance of driving licence and vehicle inspection strict and IT based so as to reduce scope for subjectivity and extraneous considerations.

7.9.2 Strategies:

(i) The Transport Department will be strengthened to make it more as a Transport System Regulator than mere revenue collection and licence issuing agent.

1090 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

(ii) Model Driver training institutions will be established in

all regions with requisite infrastructure support.

(iii) The Government will strengthen introducing modern web-based database of the vehicles and adopting e-payment scheme for payment of taxes and modern methods of vehicle tracking and monitoring system by establishing necessary control centres.

(iv) The Government will set up exclusive wing for road safety enforcement which will work on automated system. Existing other enforcement agencies will also be equally equipped. Emphasis of enforcement will be to smoothen the traffic flow and reduce road accidents.

7.10 Road Safety: Due to friction and conflicts inflicted by the cris-crossing of vehicles such as cycles, pedestrians, slow mode, etc., not only the level of service of the roads deteriorated sharply but, also resulted in higher accident causalities. Accidents become a common scene on Puducherry roads and major brunt of these accidents are born by cyclists, pedestrians, and two wheelers.

On an average annually around 200 people die and around 1,500

get hospitalized due to road accidents.

Road accident rate and fatalities are increasing in the state without any abetment. There is an urgent need to control road accidents and gradually bring it down to zero level.

7.10.1 Objectives:

(i) Reduce the occurrence and severity of road accidents and consequently, the level of fatalities and injuries in an efficient and professional manner.

(ii) Reduce road accidents by at least 50% by 2020 and to

maintain zero growth level further.

7.10.2 Strategies:

(i) The Government will strengthen the Road Safety Cell of the Transport Department with regulatory, advisory, capacity building and research functions to provide an institutional framework for a coordinated approach to prevent road accidents.

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(ii) The Government will establish necessary infrastructure to

carry out routine accident investigations and conduct safety audit of highways and intersections to identify

stretches/spots having defective road geometrics and lack of road safety devices.

(iii) Strict enforcement will be done against all traffic violations using IT based intelligent transport devices such as speed

radar/cameras, GPS, etc., and enhance penalty clauses and amount.

(iv) Inspection and Certification (I&C) of transport vehicles will be made compulsory by covering both safety and emission

norms and link registration/insurance of vehicles with I&C.

(v) The Government will encourage private sector participation

in rescue, evacuation and trauma care of accident victims for effective delivery of emergency relief services.

(vi) Establishing post-accident trauma care facilities desirably at every 5 to 10 km. radius of occurrence of accidents on

National and State highways.

(vii) The Government will encourage NGOs and other expert

agencies in spreading road safety messages and conduct road safety awareness campaigns to educate public on safe

road user behavior.

8. Fare Structuring.— Independent Quasi Judicial Body will be

set up to closely monitor direct and indirect costing of transport industry as a whole and create a mechanism whereby fares and freight

rates are restructured periodically to ensure the viability of the industry and safeguard the interest of the general public as well.

9. Inter-Modal Transport Coordination

9.1 Inter-modal connectivity: Travel corridors have varying

densities of travel demand and hence need technologies that best match the level of demand on the corridor. This often requires different

operators managing such systems. However, a good transport system

is one that is perceived by the user as a single system and allows

seamless travel between one mode and the other as also between 1092 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

systems managed by different operators. Such seamless inter-change is

possible if, proper inter-change infrastructure is available and users are

able to use a single ticket over all such systems. This also requires that

a single agency takes responsibility for coordination so that there is

common approach to transport planning and management. In order to

achieve this, the proposed Puducherry Urban Transport Agency will be

strengthened.

9.2 Railways: The present rail transport system in the State is

weak and there is scope for improving the coverage of railways in the

Union territory of Puducherry. Several express trains connecting the

major cities, Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMU) between major

inter-city routes and urban trains between intra-city routes with latest

electronic passenger information system and ticketing systems will be

introduced. In this regard, the Ministry of Railways will be impressed

upon to execute speedy railway projects in the Union territory of

Puducherry.

9.3 Multi-modal logistic parks: There is also a need for

constructing multi-modal logistic parks at selected locations in the State

which will act as new industrial and commercial growth centres and for

facilitating goods transportation to and fro these industrial zones and

elsewhere. These centres will be served by all modes and there will be

integrated movement of goods by different modes.

9.4 Air transportation: The Government policy in aviation

sector would be to promote easier and faster air transport facility for

the business, tourist and emergency traffic by constructing medium

sized Airports in all the regions and helipads in all towns and major

tourist locations in the State. This will encourage inter-city air taxi

services both in public and private sector using smaller aircrafts and

helicopters for faster connectivity, for emergency needs as well as for

commerce and tourism.

9.5 Coastal shipping: Transportation by coastal shipping is

the cheapest mode especially for bulk commodities and for those long

haulage traffic. There is scope for connecting Chennai and other regions

of the Union territory of Puducherry through coastal shipping mode.

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The Government will notify a Port policy in which private sector

will be encouraged to participate in Port construction and in the

development of Port activities.

10. Integration of Land Use and Transport Planning.— The design

of the transport system will have to depend on city specific features

such as population, area, urban form, topography, economic activities,

income levels, growth constraints, etc., and thus transport planning is

intrinsically linked to land use planning and both need to be developed

together in a manner that serves the entire population and yet minimises

travel needs. Therefore, the Government will promote Transit Oriented

Development plans to integrate land use and transport plans for all

towns/cities of the Union territory of Puducherry.

11. Manpower.— Although there are about 3 lakh registered

drivers in the State, there is a dearth of skilled Drivers to drive heavy

vehicles including passenger buses and goods vehicles. Most of the

heavy vehicle Drivers are very young and do not have adequate training

in handling these vehicles. Likewise there is also great demand for

expertise in managing various transport related activities including travel

and tour operations and managing traffic. There is a need to ensure

continuous availability of trained and skilled manpower in transport sector.

11.1 Objectives :

(i) To ensure availability of adequate trained manpower to

manage and operate different transport operations and to

control of traffic congestion in cities, highways, etc.,

11.2 Strategies:

(i) The Government will encourage setting up of Drivers and

Mechanics training centres (both in private and public) in

each District and provide advanced driving simulators and

test-track facilities to impart innovative Driver training and

driving behaviour for enhancing road safety.

(ii) The Government will look into the welfare aspects of

unorganized Drivers including fixation of fair and minimum

wages to reduce drop outs from profession.

1094 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

(iii) The Government will encourage creating a reserve of traffic

wardens after giving necessary training to students,

youths and other volunteers/social activists to regulate

traffic at congested junctions during peak periods on

voluntary/part time basis.

(iv) The Government will give incentives to Drivers who show

accident free defensive driving habits.

12. Good Governance.— The current structure of Governance for

the transport sector is not equipped to deal with the problems of

transport sector. The present structure do not provide for the right

coordination mechanisms to deal with transport problems. Towards this

end, the Government proposes to establish Puducherry Urban Transport

Agency (PUTA) which will act as the umbrella agency to regulate the

overall performance of the transport system in the Union territory of

Puducherry. The agency would inter-alia conduct necessary scientific

studies to design networks and routes, assess demand, contract services,

monitor performance and manage the transport system. The agency will

have representation from all the major operators and stakeholders.

13. Resource Mobilization.— The Government will encourage

private investment in developing transport infrastructure in the State.

Government will ensure availability of land and guaranteed minimum

returns to the Special Purpose Vehicles constituted for the purpose

by way of capital grant and annuities to bridge the short falls in the

revenue.

The Government will provide adequate budgetary support for

development of transport infrastructure in the Union territory of

Puducherry. The existing tax and subsidy policy will be restructured with

a view to enhance revenue on the one hand and encourage public

transport.

14. Policy Implementation.— The Line Departments such as

Local Administration, Port, Public Works, Transport, Town and Country

Planning, Puducherry Road Transport Corporation Limited, Puducherry

Urban Transport Agency Limited and other Departments involved in

Transport Sector based on this Transport Policy will prepare their 1095

PART–II] LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT

Strategies and implementable Short/Medium/Long Term Action Plans

within a period of one year from the notification of the Transport Policy.

The Transport Policy, Comprehensive Mobility Plans, Comprehensive

Development Plans and similar Development Plans will be the guiding

documents. The Puducherry Urban Transport Agency will co-ordinate

in effecting Integrated Multi Modal Transport System in the Union

territory of Puducherry.

The Transport Policy and Action Plans will be reviewed periodically

once in three years and goals will be reset.

————

online publication at "http://styandptg.puducherry.gov.in" Government Central Press Directorate of Stationery and Printing Puducherry-605 009.

Cite this issue. Puducherry Gazette, Government of Puducherry, 09 August 2017. Indian Gazettes, https://egazette.servantsofknowledge.in/details/in.gazette.puducherry.2017-08-09.extraordinary-ii-issue-52/. Archive identifier in.gazette.puducherry.2017-08-09.extraordinary-ii-issue-52.