B D Narayankar
Press Trust of India
Bangalore, Oct 20: Industry body Assocham today said mass transit rail systems like the Bangalore Metro will become necessary to avert urban vehicular traffic in the country, as the number of cities with more than 10 lakh people will increase in the next two decades.
"Bangalore''s population of 80 lakh is likely to cross 1 crore by 2030," the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said in a statement.
Mumbai is likely to have 3.3 crore people in the next 20 years, Delhi 2.6 crore, Kolkata 2.3 crore, Chennai 1.1 crore, Bangalore and Pune 1 crore each, Assocham said.
Moreover, Hyderabad is likely to have 98 lakh people in the next 20 years, Ahmedabad 84 lakh, Surat 74 lakh, Jaipur 54 lakh, Nagpur 52 lakh, Kanpur and Vadodra 42 lakh each,it said.
"Cities will account for 69 per cent of the country�s GDP in the next two decades," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
Delhi Metro since its inception has helped reduction of over 5 lakh vehicles on city roads, leading to fuel savings of Rs 8,000 crore during 2010-11, Rawat said.
"These (numbers) could rise progressively to Rs 20,000 crore by 2020," he added.
Total urban population in India is already 37.7 crore and may exceed the earlier projection of 59 crore by 2030, Rawat said.
India''s urban sprawl is poised to become second largest in the world with more population than in many countries, he said.
The most critical issue in times to come will be efficient transport systems to decongest burgeoning urban vehicular traffic volume, Rawat said.
"Metro Rail has the potential to bring all-round benefits to businesses, the environment and people from all walks of life. It is evolving as an industry on its own and creating space for new services and jobs,� he said.
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