New signals run into delay despite fund allocation

Two months to go and the Central government's refusal to hand out more funds for the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010 is causing a heartburn. The latest is the acknowledgement by the ministry of home affairs that the much-touted intelligent traffic system (ITS), for which the ministry got Rs 200 crore, will not be earmarked for the Games.

Sports officials say MHA's Rs 200 crore could instead have been utilized for other Games-related work, i.e, either infrastructure or training. "The reason why the traffic police was given that fund was because they had said the ITS would be installed for the Delhi Games 2010. Now, the system will not be used for the Games at all,'' said a senior ministry official.

Sources say the funds, which were approved in 2009, form part of the overall Games budget, a fact that is rubbing many the wrong way. A source in the Organising Committee said, "More funds are needed for the conduct of the Games. Yet, here (for ITS) funds have been allocated and the project is not even taking place.''

The tenders for the showcase ITS project, touted to be the one-point solution to manage traffic during the Commonwealth Games, will be floated next week. "The ITS project is in the process of implementation and the tenders are going to be floated next week. The system will not be operational before the Commonwealth Games and only a portion of the Rs 200 crore allocation has been disbursed so far,'' said Ajay Chadha, special commissioner of police (traffic). Of the funds received last year, the traffic police reportedly paid RITES and MTNL for consultancy and the remaining money was returned.

To manage traffic before the Games, the traffic police had plans to have ITS on all 87 corridors spanning across 210 kms which will be used by players and officials. The scheme was to replace signal technology at 302 intersections to reduce congestion on the stretches and track the movement of vehicles from a centralized control room.

Intelligent signals take count of the volume of vehicles at an intersection and automatically adjusts the available green-signal time on the basis of changing traffic demand. In addition to ITS for better traffic management, the selected roads will also be fitted with video cameras to relay real-time images of roads to a centralized control room, and give auto alerts in times of jams caused by accidents or vehicular breakdowns.

There will also be red light speed cameras and automatic number plate recognizer (ANPR) cameras which automatically read number plates of vehicles flouting traffic norms and send the data for generation of challan slips and variable message sign (VMS) boards to give road users information about road conditions ahead and prosecution cameras attached to traffic signals.

As for the Games, the cops are already looking for alternatives like temporary cameras and equipment on key roads. If the tender gets finalized in time, some components of the ITS proposal may be put up too. But traffic management will happen the way it does at present. The only difference is that one lane will be reserved for Games traffic.