After being pulled up for giving red herrings to the court, Delhi Government on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that it would take nine months to shift the DTC Millennium Bus Depot built on fragile Yamuna riverbed at a cost of Rs60 crore ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010 by the then Sheila Dikshit dispensation. It was earlier demanding a year’s time but was pulled up by a bench of Justice Sudershan Kumar Mishra who remarked “don’t give me this red herring.”
After its request for a year’s time was opposed by environmentalist Anand Arya and his counsel Reena George who had moved high court against the depot being set up on the flood plain, it said it would take six months to identify an alternative site and another three months to move. While pulling it up for its lackadaisical attitude, the bench granted five days time to the government to reassess its plans and time it would take in shifting the DTC Millennium Bus Depot and thereby vacating the ecologically sensitive area.
The bench directed the government to file an affidavit within five days appraising the court about the reasonable time for vacating the site. “It is submitted that Delhi Govt has taken a relook at all aspects of the matter... In order to enable the Government to reassess its priorities and file an affidavit giving a reasonable time for vacating the site in question. let the affidavit be filed within five days from today,” the bench said. The HC also expressed its displeasure at the delay caused by the Government in the matter. Standing Counsel Summet Pushkarna told the bench that the new Government is prepared to do the needful.