December 15, 2008	Monday	Zilhaj 16, 1429

KARACHI, Dec 14: Financial constraints seem to have brought a proposed Rs3 billion traffic planning and control system almost to a halt, as the officials concerned are hesitant to take up the issue with the higher authorities because of a shortage of funds and the uncertain economic conditions.

Queries put before senior officials did not return satisfactory replies over the proposed reforms in the traffic management system, replicating the one planned, managed and executed more than two years ago in Lahore.

However, a growing demand for reforms in the traffic management system amid rising congestion and the conventional method of management for the metropolis failed to inspire the authorities for more than a year to execute the proposal and now, as the officials said, the issue of finances was preventing it from becoming a reality.

“Initially there was serious reservation over the estimated cost of the project, which stood at Rs3 billion,” said a senior official citing a recent discussion on the issue.

“But later the traffic police authorities were asked to squeeze it to Rs1 billion and finally there are reports that the project is not likely to take off in the near future due to financial problems.”

The institutions concerned forwarded the proposal more than a year ago, envisaging complete reforms in traffic planning, control and management through appointing 6,000 wardens. A series of meetings and discussions within the power circles led to the estimated Rs3 billion cost of the project.

During the process, the city government approached the Sindh governor for issuing an ordinance to transfer the traffic police’s planning and control system to the local authorities in line with the federal government’s devolution of power programme.

CDGK, Sindh govt acrimony

However, progress on both proposals – the traffic planning project and transfer of its control to the local authorities – has not yet been witnessed, apparently due to a shortage of funds and acrimony between the city and Sindh governments after the Feb 18 elections.

“The transfer of the traffic planning, control and management system to the city government is a separate issue and only the government policy over the local bodies system will determine its fate,” said the official. “This Rs3 billion project is a totally different issue, which seeks complete overhaul of the system with the induction of 6,000 wardens as in Lahore. After the execution of the project, the city traffic management and control system, we believe, would totally change in a positive manner.”

However, he did not sound confident when asked about the fate of the proposal but said a meeting between traffic police high-ups and senior Sindh government officials was due after a week or two, which might clear the matter.

“But as the things are moving, we don’t think that the project would get a go-ahead from the authorities concerned,” he said. “They have serious reservations on the project’s cost, which is justified to some extent considering the financial health of the government and funding to other projects.”

However, he said the importance of the project could not be ignored, as the mega development of the city’s infrastructure and a huge influx of vehicles of every kind demanded reforms also in the traffic management system.

More than 300 people have died in the city in traffic accidents during the third quarter of 2008, mainly due to the rising number of vehicles and violation of traffic rules. The latest figures compiled by the Road Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre at the Jinnah Postgraduate and Medical Centre show that from July to September 2008, about 8,500 cases of road accidents were reported to different hospitals in the city.