River links, AI signaling, and tram revival: Transport and Labour Minister Arjun Singh speaks on 5 month in Cabinet

Five months into the Suvendu Adhikari-led West Bengal government, Transport and Labour Minister Arjun Singh spoke to The Indian Express about his plans for the state's transport and labour sectors. He identified coordination between agencies and outdated infrastructure as the biggest bottlenecks in the system. To address these issues, his department has brought down the number of unregistered vehicles from 27 lakh to around 14 lakh, implemented body cameras for conductors, and introduced AI-powered traffic signalling.

The minister also discussed his top priority for the transport sector, which is the modernisation and redevelopment of transport infrastructure under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. This includes transforming bus depots and terminuses, upgrading traffic management with AI-driven signalling, and introducing water taxis and a high-capacity river link road. The river link is currently in the conceptual stage, with a budget of Rs 2,000 crore for the water taxi project.

Kolkata's road coverage is limited to 6%, so the government is focusing on measures such as phasing out commercial vehicles older than 15 years and deploying AI-powered adaptive signalling at critical traffic junctions. Despite internal friction among party leaders, Singh emphasized that the people's primary concerns are employment, public safety, infrastructure, education, and industrial growth.