The Centre has approved a Rs 1,789.52-crore Intelligent Traffic Management System for Delhi, a technology-backed project that will connect traffic signals, enforcement, emergency vehicle movement and commuter information across 42 identified corridors.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the project, according to details reported by Times of India. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the system would effectively add a “brain” to Delhi’s traffic management network. It will be implemented in three phases over 24 months, followed by five years of operation and maintenance.
The project is designed to make traffic signals respond to actual road conditions rather than operate mainly on fixed timings. It will deploy 1,092 Adaptive Traffic Control System locations, allowing signal cycles to change according to prevailing traffic conditions. Signals along selected corridors will also be coordinated to reduce avoidable stops and delays.
Delhi has around 71 lakh active registered vehicles, while vehicle growth has outpaced the expansion of road infrastructure. The new system is intended to improve the use of the existing network through real-time traffic data, corridor-level coordination and faster incident response, rather than relying only on additional road capacity.
The system will bring traffic regulation, enforcement and information dissemination together through Traffic Command and Control Centres. It will be supported by a secure Data Centre and Disaster Recovery infrastructure. The project includes 1,029 enforcement locations, where automated systems will detect violations such as red-light and stop-line violations, speeding, wrong-way driving, illegal parking, riding without helmets, driving without seat belts and using mobile phones while driving.
Artificial intelligence-based analytics will also assist in identifying stolen, hot-listed and blacklisted vehicles, repeat offenders and vehicles linked to hit-and-run incidents. The supplied project details do not specify the penalties or enforcement process that will follow each automated detection, but the system is expected to make technology-based monitoring a larger part of traffic regulation in the capital.
Emergency vehicles are expected to receive priority through the creation of green corridors. Real-time detection of congestion, slow-moving traffic and road incidents will allow Delhi Police to respond more quickly and introduce diversions where necessary. The system is also intended to support faster ambulance movement through congested stretches.
For commuters, Variable Message Sign boards and digital platforms will provide information on congestion, diversions, parking availability and prevailing traffic conditions. This information may also be shared with navigation service providers, giving travellers access to live updates before and during their journeys.
The rollout will take place corridor by corridor in three phases. Each subsequent phase will begin after the preceding phase is evaluated against testing, commissioning, acceptance and performance parameters. Delhi Police will implement the project through a Master System Integrator selected through competitive bidding.
The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, or C-DAC, will serve as the Project Management Consultant. Its responsibilities will include technical scrutiny, monitoring, validation and acceptance during implementation and the subsequent operation and maintenance period. The system will use open standards and application programming interfaces, allowing future integration and expansion. The next formal milestones will be the selection of the Master System Integrator and the phased implementation across the 42 identified corridors.
