Both Delhi and London are among the most populous metros of the world. The recent visit of London's mayor Ken Livingstone to Delhi had him borrow a leaf out of Delhi's book with regards to the green cover that the city enjoys. Not surprisingly, the Londoner too had something to give to the people of Delhi.

While Delhi’s roads are mired in chaos and mayhem due to the ever-swelling vehicular traffic, London’s traffic though almost equally over-crowded, is characterized with order and discipline. Of course, Delhi is till passing through the early pangs of traffic control while London has already had its share of similar experiences nearly two decades back. Besides traffic, there are many other issues on developmental front where both the capitals can learn from each other’s experiences.

The lawmakers and transport department in Delhi are fumbling for solutions to the traffic problems created by the Blueline buses and the controversial HCBS corridor. It may be noted that a young man’s life was lost in the chaos created on the HCBC corridor issue.

When London’s mayor Ken Livingstone visited Delhi along with his transport commissioner, Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dixit took this opportunity to get some tips on managing the chaotic traffic and creating a more efficient public transport system in the metropolis. Urban transport and traffic management was therefore on the top of the London-Delhi agreement that was signed between the London’s mayor and the Delhi’s chief minister.

During the visit, chief minister Sheila Dixit had asked the Delhi transport officers to meet the London transport commissioner and to request him to see the High Capacity Bus Corridor and offer his comments on the issue. ‘‘Maybe that will help us know if we have gone wrong somewhere,’’ the CM is reported to have remarked.

The chief minister had apprised the London mayor of the fact that Delhi was a big city with a very fast growing fleet of private and government vehicles. With almost 28 types of transport vehicles plying on the capital’s roads, the government finds itself in ‘a bit of a soup’. An important aspect of the agreement between London and Delhi is to coordinate with each other on issues relating to urban transport system and other environmentally friendly modes of transport.

Yet another issue that is giving Delhi government sleepless nights is the impending Commonwealth Games in 2010, which Britain has already held in Manchester. So the chief minister Sheila Dixit also sought to draw upon Britain’s expertise in organizing the games.

This, however, does not mean that there was just one-way traffic of ideas. London’s mayor was deeply impressed by the green cover in Delhi and wanted to seek return tips on providing the same level of green cover back in London. It is a great achievement for Delhi to have increased its green cover 15 fold over the past decade.