Bhubaneswar: An Inception Workshop on the “Preparation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Transition Plans for Odisha” was organised by Odisha’s Housing & Urban Development Department in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
The initiative aims to develop a comprehensive and sustainable urban mobility framework for the Bhubaneswar–Kataka –Puri–Paradip Economic Region (BKPPER), with focus on regional mobility planning, transformation of public bus services and strengthening of institutional mechanisms for sustainable urban transport. It is aligned with the long-term aspirations of Odisha Vision 2036 and Vision 2047.
During the workshop, the ADB team presented key findings and recommendations from the Inception Report. Discussions were held on the Comprehensive Regional Mobility Plan for BKPPER, the Bus Service Transformation Roadmap and the Draft Odisha Transit-Oriented Development Policy, with inputs from participating departments and stakeholders.
Setting the context, Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department, emphasised that the exercise should go beyond preparation of a document and result in an implementable framework developed through partnership among all stakeholders. Sharing an experience from her early days of service in a remote area of Odisha, she highlighted how inadequate mobility can affect access to essential services and economic opportunities.
She observed that mobility is closely linked with access, productivity and quality of life and stressed the need for forward-looking, coordinated planning as Odisha enters a significant phase of urbanisation.
“Odisha is in a position where we can put the right systems in place as we move towards the next level of urbanisation,” Padhee said, underlining the opportunity to adopt sustainable mobility principles early and avoid legacy challenges.
Kanzo Nakai, Director, Transport Sector Office, ADB, highlighted the critical link between mobility, urban productivity and development. Referring to an ADB study covering six major metropolitan cities, he noted that commuters in some cities spend up to four hours a day travelling, resulting in significant productivity losses.
He also noted that Odisha’s current stage of urbanisation provides an opportunity to avoid some of the car-centric patterns and infrastructure challenges faced by older metropolitan areas and move towards more sustainable and integrated mobility systems.
The workshop was attended by Transport Commissioner Amitav Thakur, Director, Municipal Administration (DMA) Arindam Dakua, MD, CRUT Md. Siddique Alam, MD IDCO D Prasant Reddy and VC, BDA Chanchal Rana, senior officers from the Works Department, OSRTC, Police, IDCO, KDA, Collector Jagatsinghpur, Katak, Puri & Khordha and other stakeholders participated online.
From ADB and the consultant team, Saugata Dasgupta, Senior Transport Advisor; Bankim Kalra, Consultant, Zohra Mutabanna, Consultant; Ankush Malhotra; and Pritha Ghosh Chatterjee of SYSTRA, among others, participated in the workshop.
The deliberations are expected to contribute to the preparation of an integrated mobility transition framework aimed at promoting efficient, inclusive, connected and sustainable urban mobility in Odisha, with BKPPER as a key focus region.
