In the absence of comprehensive plans for traffic movement and decongestion of cities, the Union Urban Development Ministry is looking out for agencies to draw up a comprehensive mobility plan for cities. The burgeoning population and increasing traffic volume have been a cause of concern for the Ministry. It has gone to the extent of asking cities to levy congestion charges and heavy parking fees to persuade motorists to opt for public transport instead of private vehicles. The Ministry is now keen to empanel agencies to undertake studies and pilots to evolve a solution for problems that are the by-products of massive urbanisation. “Mobility demands are rapidly increasing due to population increase and economic growth. Mobility has become a key concern as it impacts economic potential and quality of life in cities. The National Urban Transport Policy, 2006 envisages safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access to the growing urban population by incorporating urban transportation as an important parameter at the urban planning stage rather than being a consequential requirement,” a document issued by the Institute of Urban Transport on behalf of the Ministry says. The Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) will be a long-term policy document providing rationale for urban transport projects in the city including those under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. “Several new issues have become relevant to mobility planning in recent years. Some of these issues are the need to protect the environment, ensure social equity, poverty alleviation, sustainability and the institutional framework and financing to implement the plan to achieve the desired level of mobility. Hence, a strong need for preparing a ‘Comprehensive Mobility Plan’ (CMP) for the city to integrate sustainability, governance and financial issues has arisen,” the note reads. Experts are being sought to prepare “better quality plans for the cities that comply with all standards and guidelines and become the single most important urban transport strategy document for any city”. Once empanelled, the names of these experts who will be designated as consultants will be recommended to States for final selection for preparation of CMPs.