By Special Correspondent
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee has voiced strong concern over what it calls the unchecked and poorly conceived surge of urban development in major cities, including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur. The party claims that large-scale ventures such as road widening, flyover construction and the ongoing metro rail works are being advanced in the name of public welfare, while in reality serving the interests of influential contractors and political allies.
Congress spokesperson Abhinav Baroliya warned that the most visible and distressing impact of these projects is the rapid depletion of urban green cover. In recent years, lakhs of trees have reportedly been felled, with transplantation drives proving largely performative. Party leaders assert that over 90 per cent of the transplanted trees have either failed to survive or were later removed without accountability, resulting in a steep decline in green density. Consequently, the Air Quality Index in Bhopal and other cities is deteriorating sharply and is projected to worsen further in the coming months.
The Congress maintains that expensive metro rail systems are feasible only in megacities with population densities exceeding 50,000 persons per sq km, robust IT corridors and daily commuter volumes running into millions. In contrast, cities like Bhopal—with a density of just 8,000–10,000 persons per sq km—and Indore lack both the demographic scale and economic rationale. According to the party, the metro will not only strain the public exchequer but also intensify traffic congestion during and after construction, echoing the shortcomings of earlier initiatives such as the BRTS.
Calling for an immediate halt to all metro-related works, the Congress has demanded an impartial technical and financial appraisal, along with a complete moratorium on tree felling for road and flyover projects. If unavoidable, the party insists on planting ten new trees for every tree cut, backed by a mandatory five-year maintenance guarantee.
It further advocates low-cost, eco-friendly mobility solutions—enhanced bus networks, dedicated cycle lanes, pedestrian-friendly pathways and electric buses—while urging a high-level judicial probe into alleged corruption within current urban infrastructure schemes.
