Delhi Metro, many others fail to constitute Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority

 Delhi metro, which began its operations in the year 2002, has not yet constituted Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA).

Similarly, Gujarat (Surat Ametro), Mumbai, Jaipur and Gurugram (Rapid metro) have also not constituted UMTA so far.

State Governments are required to constitute Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) as a statutory body which would be responsible for preparation of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for the city.

A Parliamentary standing committee has expressed its displeasure that despite a lapse of more than four years, out of 12 states where Metro rail net work has either commenced or is under construction, six states are yet to constitute UMTA, including NCT of Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

The Committee recommended the Ministry to take up and encourage setting up of UMTA in the states where its supported metro networks are, either operational or under construction, without any further delay.

The Metro Rail Policy, 2017 provide for an integrated approach in planning and management of urban transport wherein the State Governments are required to constitute Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) as a statutory body which would be responsible for preparation of Comprehensive Mobility Plan for the city, organise investments in urban transport infrastructure, establish effective coordination among various urban transport agencies, manage the Urban Transport Fund (UTF), etc.

The Committee further noted that for all metro rail projects taken up with central assistance it will be mandatory for the State Governments to give commitment to set up and operationalise UMTA in the city within a year and the cities where metro projects are already under implementation, UMTA should be constituted within a year.

The Committee has been apprised that UMTA has been constituted in Bengaluru, Kochi, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra cities. On the other hand, UMTA for Patna, Bhopal, Indore and Nagpur metros are under process.