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Is IT the cause of traffic jams in Bangalore?

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: Union Minister for Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy said on Tuesday that the growth of IT sector in Bangalore was one of the main reasons behind the huge traffic jams, though the sector has helped the city grow.

“... there are so many traffic jams in Bangalore because the IT sector has done well,” Reddy said in his address at the Business Standard Infrastructure meet 2010 here. “Bangalore is not only famous for IT but also for traffic jams, therefore, Bangalore needs metro rail transport more urgently than other cities,” he opined.

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The minister also said the central government is planning to fund 28 more cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) to improve civic infrastructure.

“We are considering including 28 more cities in the second phase of the urban renewal mission (JNNURM-2). The Planning Commission will consider the proposal to include 28 cities with five lakh population as per the 2001 census in the 12th five-year plan (2012-2017)," Reddy told reporters on the margins of the infrastructure meet.

Bangalore and Mysore in Karnataka are availing funds under the seven-year city modernization scheme to improve amenities. Hubli in north Karnataka is one of the 28 cities being considered for inclusion in the mission's second phase.

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Noting that increasing urbanization due to demographic changes and constant migration from rural areas in search of jobs would add more pressure on the existing infrastructure in the cities, Reddy said spending in the infrastructure sector would have to go up to 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) from nine percent in this fiscal (2010-11) and seven percent in the last fiscal (2009-10).

(In the backdrop of the minister's remark, what do you think the IT giants in the metropolitan cities should do to help bring down the traffic problems, thus making life easier for common people? Feel free to post your comments in the box below)

With inputs from IANS

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