Traffic growth spike

Over the past eight years, J&K’s  roads have witnessed a near-doubling of the number of vehicles from 13.66 lakh in 2016 to more than 25.67 lakh in 2024. The precipitous growth in registration of vehicles, both personal and commercial, indicates rising economic activity, higher mobility, and growing aspirations, even in the countryside.  This is reflected in the 88% growth in the revenue collection by the Motor Vehicles Department. According to figures, the department has earned a record-breaking Rs. 925 crore in revenue for the year 2023-24, nearly double from Rs. 501.15 crores in 2020-21.

Yet, there are reasons to be concerned with such a hurried expansion of vehicle ownership: One of these is whether the infrastructure can cope with this vehicular surge? Already, in urban hotspots such as Srinagar, traffic congestion is a daily nightmare. The roads, parking lots, as well as the transport system, are being strained by this boom. The environmental costs in terms of air pollution, noises, and carbon emissions are set to follow if no solutions are quickly introduced.

In addition, the administration has to tread a delicate balance between regulation and growth. Unrestrained growth, particularly in private non-commercial transport, would exacerbate current bottlenecks in the infrastructure and clog our roads. The fallout on the urban areas has been severe. In Kashmir Valley, for example, Srinagar has been reeling under the ever increasing volume of the traffic. The reason is well-known: the city’s road length is not commensurate with the exponential growth in the traffic volume. Although the government has been working on a 115 km long ring road for the summer capital, the project is far from anywhere near completion.  The three-tier ring road would connect East and North areas of the city with those on the West side with most of it comprising four to eight lane roads.

The task today is not merely accommodating this growth but also directing it—so J&K's changing transport landscape should be both efficient as well as green.  The need is for our city planners to think for the long term. Their approach has to be comprehensive rather than adhocist in nature, as has been the case so far.