Chief Secretary reviews traffic management plan for Jammu, Srinagar

Srinagar, Oct 16: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Friday chaired a meeting of the Multi-Disciplinary Committee (MDC) on Traffic Management to review the implementation of a comprehensive action plan aimed at easing traffic congestion, improving urban mobility and strengthening road safety in the twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar.
The meeting reviewed the Action Taken Report on the recommendations of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS), besides assessing the progress of various inter-departmental interventions relating to traffic regulation, parking management, public transport, road infrastructure, enforcement and assistance to road accident victims here.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Home; Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department; Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department; Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir/Jammu; Commissioner Secretary, Transport; Secretary, Tourism; Inspector General of Police, Traffic; Deputy Inspector General, Traffic, Jammu/Kashmir; Commissioner, Jammu/Srinagar Municipal Corporations; Vice-Chairman, SDA/JDA; Director, Urban Local Bodies, Jammu/Kashmir; Vice-Chairman, Lakes Conservation and Management Authority, besides other officers of the concerned departments.
Emphasising the need for coordinated and outcome-oriented efforts, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned Municipal Corporations to undertake regular inspections to assess the installation and adequacy of traffic signages at different locations across both cities. He asked the respective Divisional Commissioners to closely monitor the progress and ensure timely resolution of deficiencies.
He enjoined upon the Traffic Department to analyse the data available on the electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) portal to identify accident-prone locations and time-specific traffic risks. The deployment of traffic personnel, he stressed, should be aligned with the identified hotspots and blackspots to improve enforcement and substantially reduce road accidents.
The Chief Secretary also called for working out a proposal to augment the capacity of the Transport Department to conduct comprehensive safety audits of heavy passenger vehicles operating across Jammu and Kashmir, with particular emphasis on school buses.
On parking management, he underscored the need to designate additional on-street parking spaces at suitable locations to facilitate the general public. He further stressed the implementation of the parking policy through the creation of additional parking lots across urban centres of the Union Territory to address congestion arising from unregulated parking.
Taking note of the functioning of the Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS), the Chief Secretary called for upgrading the system to incorporate Facial Recognition System (FRS) capabilities in both cities to strengthen enforcement and enhance the sense of safety among commuters and drivers.
He also stressed the establishment of an effective grievance redressal mechanism for the implementation of the PM-RAHAT scheme, ensuring that no road accident victim is denied timely treatment at health facilities across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting also reviewed the status of vending zones, the Integrated Road Accident Database (i-RAD), e-Courts, enforcement measures undertaken by the Traffic and Transport Departments, and ongoing/proposed road-widening and road-protection works aimed at improving traffic flow and ensuring the safety of road users.
On this occasion the Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department, Anil Kumar Singh, presented video walkthroughs of various elevated corridors proposed for Jammu and Srinagar. He also apprised the meeting of the progress of ongoing road-widening works and the projects proposed for execution to improve connectivity and ease traffic congestion.
The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Anshul Garg, take this occasion to gave a detailed presentation on measures undertaken in and around Srinagar, including identification of parking spaces, decongestion initiatives, ITMS-enabled junctions, e-charging stations, remodelling of bus stops and rectification of identified blackspots.
Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UDD), Mandeep Kaur, presented the status of various interventions being implemented by the department and urban local bodies to streamline public transport, regulate parking, develop vending zones and strengthen technology-enabled traffic management.
On the development of organised parking facilities, the Commissioner Secretary revealed that 17 roadside parking sites have been identified in Jammu, of which three are functional and seven have been allotted to vendors. In Srinagar, an IT-based Automatic Number Plate Recognition (AMPR) system is monitoring 300 parking spaces across key commercial areas, including M.A. Road, Lal Chowk, Residency Road, Jhelum Riverfront and Karan Nagar, the meeting was apprised.
She also made out that IT-based parking management is also being pursued through Srinagar Smart City Limited, while Jammu Municipal Corporation has constituted a Parking Cell and will incorporate IT-based parking provisions in future tenders. Srinagar Municipal Corporation is preparing a GIS-based Parking Management Area Plan for systematic identification and regulation of parking zones, she added.
The meeting also reviewed the development of electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. Regarding the same it was given out that in Jammu, sites have been identified and handed over to the Transport Department under the PM E-Drive scheme, with Rs 15 crore allocated and civil works for the e-bus depot underway. In Srinagar, the Pantha Chowk charging station, with a capacity of 100 buses, has been developed, while the Zoonimar station is functional for 15 vehicles. Charging stations at Batamaloo, Harwan and Bemina are under execution, against an allocation of Rs 13.99 crore.
The meeting was further apprised that four vending-zone sites are operational in Jammu at Roop Nagar, Talab Tillo, Shakti Nagar and Narwal behind Wave Mall. In Srinagar, vending spaces at Magarmal Bagh, Batamaloo and Nishat are functional, with vending zones are being developed in other districts. For improving traffic discipline, it was added that No-honking zones have been mapped at 29 major institutional locations in Jammu and 12 locations in Srinagar..
The presentation highlighted the enforcement performance of ITMS during January–July 2026. In Jammu, the system generated 1,75,384 e-challans involving Rs 20.20 crore, of which 11,467 challans were disposed of and Rs 1.04 crore realised. In Srinagar, 1,04,311 e-challans involving Rs 10.50 crore were generated, with 3,210 challans disposed of and Rs 0.19 crore realised.
The Transport Department also apprised the meeting of its enforcement initiatives, including the cancellation of 68,000 vehicle registration certificates for repeated violations, utilisation of the Road Accident Victim Fund and implementation of PM-RAHAT for accident victims requiring medical treatment.
Against Rs 18.14 crore allocated under Road Safety Funds since 2021, Rs 13.83 crore has been utilised for procuring traffic-monitoring and enforcement equipment. These include 560 iron traffic barricades, 685 body-worn cameras, 1,000 traffic safety night belts, 19 interceptor vehicles, 16 high-patrol vehicles, 23 cranes, 36 breath-alcohol analysers and 100 first-responder kits, besides ambulances. A GeM contract and supply order have also been issued for 30 containerised traffic booths at a cost of Rs 103.50 lakh, with prototype preparation underway.
The Public Works Department further reported the completion of metal beam crash barriers along a 13-km stretch of NH-44 in Jammu on May 7, 2025, and along a 31-km stretch in Kashmir to improve road safety and lane management.
The committee reviewed the inter-departmental action points under the SCCoRS framework, including strengthening District Level Road Safety Committees, operationalising the Road Accident Victim Fund, implementing PM-RAHAT, integrating ITMS, e-DAR, e-Courts and i-RAD, auditing blackspots and dark hotspots, conducting school-bus safety audits and assessing the status of trauma-care facilities.
The Chief Secretary emphasised that systematic parking management, effective enforcement, safer road infrastructure and timely emergency response must remain central to the administration’s efforts to make urban travel safer, smoother and more convenient for the people.