The decennial growth rate of
Delhi was registered at 1.98% in the census of 1911. A hundred years later the
decennial growth is 20.96%. Though the growth has slowed down significantly from
the peak of 53% in 1981, the population density of the city has almost trebled
since then from 4,194/m2 to 11,297 /m2. Rapid growth over
the past decades has put immense pressure on the resources of the city. Energy
and water supplies are struggling to keep pace with the growing demand. The last
decade of the twentieth century saw the opening up of the economy. Indian business
flourished and foreign businesses invested heavily in the economy, which gave
rise to the middle class. New money boosted consumption and created demand for
personal vehicles among other things. The number of total vehicles registered
in Delhi in 2011 stood at 7.43 million up from 521,457 in 1981. During the same
period the number of private vehicle increased from 451,602 to 6.98 million.
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| Let there be space |
Almost a quarter of the
population of Delhi lives across the Yamuna (23.5%) in one of the densely
populated parts of the city. The central business districts (CBD), which fall
in central and south Delhi, force 707,503 (2012 estimates) vehicles to cross
the eight bridges the city has, across the river Yamuna. The average time taken
to cross these bridges is anywhere between 15 – 30 minutes. This not only leads
to wastage of time but reduces productivity too. According to a 2009 study by Centre
for Transforming India, an NGO, Delhi lost approximately INR 10 crore (USD 2
million, at INR 46 to a Dollar) every day in fuel wastage. On an average each
vehicle lost 1.6 liters of fuel per day due to congestion and the exchequer
lost INR 1.5 crore (USD 0.3 million) in fuel subsidies. Though there was no
mention of the environmental impact of the wastage, it is safe to assume that
carbon emissions increased significantly. Environmental pollution sparks other
health related issues, especially among the young and old, shooting up health
care costs and reducing overall productivity.
For a city of the size of Delhi, eight
bridges is a joke. Similar cities around the world have anywhere between 12 –
30 bridges across their rivers. The Thames for example has 34 bridges in the
Greater London area (including pedestrian bridges) while Chao Phraya in Bangkok has 14
(including two under construction) bridges. Delhi is in desperate need for new
bridges to connect its densely populated east to the CDBs of South and centre. The pressure on bridges is not just from the city of Delhi but also from the satellite cities of Noida, Greater Noida, Gazhiabad and Faridabad. The pace of construction has been slow and the city got only one new bridge in the last ten years. The much publicized signature bridge is still under construction and reeling under multiple delays. The plans to construct a new train bridge replacing the 19th century, “old Yamuna Bridge” are gathering dust
for more than a decade now.
The Delhi Metro has made
significant contribution in reducing vehicular traffic on Delhi roads and will
ease the traffic more once the third phase is completed later this year.
However the ever increasing population of the city will always keep its road
infrastructure under pressure. The urban planners should wake up to the
catastrophe looming on Delhi. More bridges will mean even distribution of
traffic and hence removal of the artificial bottle necks.
Better connectivity across Yamuna
will also create new CBDs. Access is one of the major parameters which attracts
business. More connectivity across Yamuna will mean new opportunities for urban
planners to plan and construct modern business centres for the city. This in
turn will have an impact on the existing CBDs, in terms of possibly lower real
estate prices and easing of congestion. The new business centres will not only
attract corporate business but also generate local employment through
associated services like restaurants, travel agencies, print shops, etc. The
bridges not only have the potential to ease traffic congestion for commuters
but can also prove to be a source of economic boom.
