Much-touted Kochi transport authority fails to get going

KOCHI: The Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA), billed as a model for other cities bringing different modes of transportation under a single umbrella, has become a non-starter, according to insiders. Launched in November 2020, KMTA was meant to plan, supervise, coordinate, develop and regulate urban transportation and ensure optimum mobility of people. However, the authority is witnessing a slow death, they said.

“The government is least interested in taking KMTA forward as the vacancies in the agency have not been filled due to which no project has been discussed or planned. Despite follow-ups, the state finance ministry’s approval for recruitment has been delayed, defeating the agency’s purpose,” said an insider.
The KMTA Act, 2019, was the country’s first such law which incorporated parking, integrating commuters and rationalising bus routes in the city.

“As long as the state finance minister doesn’t agree with the proposals put forward by KMTA and the transport minister discusses the matter with the chief minister, there is no future for KMTA,” said the source.“Without the required officials, no project can be planned or implemented. The draft proposal to make KMTA an autonomous body was sent to the government for approval, but nothing has happened,” the source added.

When contacted, KMTA managing director S Shanawas said by August-September, the agency would be in a position to proceed, plan and discuss projects. “We are moving ahead with project discussions and planning different stages gradually. KMTA will begin from the scratch. The appointment of staff is in the pipeline. Once the vacancies are filled, we will start working in a full-fledged manner,” said Shanawas.

Experts in the public transportation field said empowering KMTA will bring an end to the mobility woes in the city. “Kochi has road, rail and water transport modes, reaching almost all parts of the city. If KMTA is given the power to plan and implement projects by integrating all these modes, it will become a model for other cities to emulate,” said a town planner, who wished to remain anonymous.