Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the Information and Transport Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, announced on 14th May, 2012 that no new plaza would be built on the roadside in Peshawar without the NOC issued by the transport department. He believes that the ban will help lower the traffic stress on roads as well as solve parking problems.
According to the minister, many of the plazas built on roadsides have ignored the parking aspect in their construction plan and thus the cars parked outside these buildings in Peshawar create traffic problems. He further said that the transport department has been given consent to take stern action against the plazas that have no arrangements for car parking.
While talking to media, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the ministry would approve new plazas after the concerned departments approve their feasibility reports and the transport department issues a No Objection Certificate. Hussain believed that transportation system cannot be fixed overnight and a comprehensive policy is needed in this regard. He has also directed the concerned officials to conduct a thorough study for devising a practical policy to fix the chaotic traffic issues in the city.
