Sustainable Transit Oriented Development : Solving Congestion Problem at Delhi

Urbanization is influencing development of any nation adversely. Rapid Urbanization especially in India is leading to severe problems such as urban poverty, environmental degradation, traffic congestion, etc. A sustainable approach to reduce these problems as well as ensure proper growth of the city is required urgently. A transit-oriented development (TOD) is thus an approach integrating land use and transit systems to maximize access to public transport and solve other problems. Transit Oriented Development incorporates designed residential and Commercial Centers providing proper accessibility to Transit and Non-motorized transportation and encouraging Transit Ridership. Delhi, the capital city of India, has a decennial population growth rate of over 45 % for last six decades. A phenomenal increase in the growth of vehicles (four wheelers, three wheelers, two wheelers and buses) has been observed during 1981-2001. Vehicles increased from 5.13 lakhs in 1981 to 32.38 lakhs in 2001, and the number of buses has grown from 8,600 to 41,483 during this period. There has been a rise of per capita trip rate from 0.72 in 1981 to 0.87 in 2001. Master Plan for Delhi, 1962 emphasized on a poly-nodal, polycentric, distribution of work centers, mainly based on road transport nodes which led to deformation between land use, transport and infrastructure and unplanned haphazard growth of the city. This paper explains the need of Transit oriented development, its importance and possible solutions to congestion problems in Delhi. Current scenario of Delhi transportation system and traffic problems has been studied and impact of implementation of transit oriented development has been identified. Growth trends and respective areas of Delhi are recognized and possible development through TOD is proposed. Equity of access to Transit, reducing dependency on private vehicles, utilization of private investment for funding of public facilities/affordable housing and conservation of environmentally sensitive areas through properly planned development are some of the key objectives of this research