India's urban population is expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2036, and road transport emitted around 369 MtCO₂ in 2023. National policy supports public transport and walking, yet the projects local and state governments put forward keep favouring road widening, flyovers, elevated corridors and private vehicles.
The paper argues that transport emissions are produced by institutional decisions as much as by vehicles and fuels: fragmented responsibilities, weak metropolitan institutions, politically driven choices, little public consultation, poor integration of land use and transport, and sustainable-mobility policies that are mostly non-statutory guidelines.
It moves from diagnosis to reform: clearer statutory responsibilities, stronger metropolitan coordination, transparent appraisal of emissions and social impacts, climate-linked finance and public accountability.