Sustainable transport environment in megalopolis cities of Delhi and Mumbai: challenges and opportunities

Ashok Kumar, Population Council

India is becoming increasingly urbanized in which the dynamics of population growth, coupled with the current trends of urbanization are highly challenging. Presently, approximately 30 percent of Indian population is living in cities, out of which about one fifth is residing in four megalopolis cities. Overwhelmed by current trends of rapid urbanization each city consists of a number of supporting systems. Transport is one of them, which provides mobility, flexibility and accessibility to urban people. For all practical purposes, a sustainable transport system must offer mobility and approachability to all urban residents in safe, risk-free and eco-friendly mode of transport. This paper deals with the concept, opportunities and challenges of creating a “sustainable transport environment” in megalopolis-cities- Delhi & Mumbai, along with a comprehensive discussion on the existing problems of air and noise pollution and poor motorized system of transport. The basic idea of this paper is to examine in-depth the extent of problems and to suggest remedial measures for sustainable transport environment.