Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 20 Dec: Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan chaired a high-level meeting at the Secretariat here on Saturday with senior officials from multiple departments to review the Dehradun Mobility Plan and deliberate on measures to ease the city’s mounting traffic congestion. Stressing on the importance of sustained intervention to streamline urban transport, Bardhan issued a series of directives aimed at expediting infrastructure upgrades and ensuring timely administrative action.
During the meeting, Bardhan instructed the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) to identify a suitable site for relocating the Niranjanpur Sabzi Mandi. He further directed that the long-pending redevelopment of Arhat Bazaar must be fast-tracked, with the Government Order (GO) to be issued byJanuary 20 (Saturday) so that reconstruction work can begin without delay. He also asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to issue the GO for the improvement of six major city junctions by January 15.
Expressing concern over the underutilisation of existing parking facilities in crowded areas, Bardhan noted that several completed parking lots are not being used to their full capacity. He emphasised that maximum occupancy must be ensured and suggested that the Municipal Corporation expand its on-road parking schemes to additional routes, thereby encouraging citizens to use designated parking spaces instead of leaving vehicles on the streets.
The CS also directed the Transport Department to register the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) within December and convene its first board meeting in January. Bardhan also called for the immediate operationalisation of the Asharodi parking facility, which is designated for storing seized vehicles. He ordered ground verification of new parking sites identified under the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) mobility plan, stating that if found feasible, development should begin at once. A feasibility study for an underground parking facility at Parade Ground has also been expedited.
Turning attention to the city’s aesthetics and safety, Bardhan instructed the officials to ensure the immediate removal of unauthorised and tangled cables hanging from utility poles. He further directed that roads in areas where underground electricity cabling has been completed must be repaired and restored to proper condition without delay.
Among those present during the meeting, included Principal Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, Additional Secretary Ahmed Iqbal, Additional Secretary Vineet Kumar, Vice-Chairman MDDA Banshidhar Tiwari and SSP Dehradun Ajai Singh along with other senior officials from the departments concerned.
