Online petition urges Telangana government to ‘unchoke’ Hyderabad roads

A group of urban planners, transport professionals and citizens has urged the Telangana government to pause new flyover and road-widening projects in Hyderabad and shift the priority to public transport, arguing that adding road capacity has failed to provide lasting relief from congestion.

In an online petition (’https://shorturl.at/rl2OG’) addressed to the Governor, Chief Minister and senior officials of various government departments and civic agencies, the signatories have called for a review of ongoing infrastructure works, including projects under the Hyderabad City Innovative and Transformative Infrastructure (H-CITI) and Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP).

Titled ‘Let’s Un-Choke Hyderabad’, the petition proposes a series of measures to improve urban mobility within six months. Move people rather than vehicles, the petition said, with emphasis on public transport, walking and cycling treated as core modes of mobility.

The petitioners argue that road expansion has encouraged private vehicle use without delivering sustained improvements in traffic speeds. It cites the growth in private vehicles, inadequate public transport and the difficulties faced by pedestrians and cyclists as reasons for rethinking the city’s transport priorities.

The signatories have sought a comprehensive audit of existing flyovers on the basis of their impact on different road users, cost-benefit performance and air quality. They have also called for traffic studies, feasibility reports, cost-benefit analyses and environmental assessments to be made public before major transport projects are approved.

Seeking improvement in the affordability and accessibility of public transport, the petition proposes restoring bus and Metro fares to pre-2022 levels, introducing an affordable common pass covering different public transport modes, ensuring live tracking of transit services and restoring the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) to its 2019 service levels.

Other proposals include procurement of new buses, increasing Metro train frequency, pooled feeder buses connecting Metro and MMTS stations with major employment centres, introducing bus-priority lanes, improving bus stops and providing safe pedestrian crossings and bicycle parking at transit stations.

To improve road safety, the petition recommends stricter penalties for dangerous driving, removing free-left turns at intersections, replacing U-turns with signalised intersections, improving street lighting and ensuring obstruction-free footpaths and bicycle lanes on roads being built or repaired.

The proposals also include pedestrianising selected commercial areas, ending free on-street parking, restricting parking provision in buildings and increasing road taxes on private vehicles. The signatories have called for a dedicated department for non-motorised transport and allocation of budget for new road infrastructure to walking, cycling and related facilities.

The petition argues that Hyderabad’s transport planning should focus on moving people rather than vehicles, with public transport, walking and cycling treated as core modes of mobility.

Signatories to the petition include Urban Transport & Policy specialist Prashanth Bachu, climate justice activist Tushar Marpaka, Urban Systems Engineer Varun Phadke, and Development Consultant Natasha Ramarathnam among others.