The State Transport Authority has paid the first installment of the pending lease payment to the railways. For the time being the Mussoorie-bus stand will continue to operate from the same location outside the Dehradun railway station.
According to the letter sent by the office of section manager of Northern Railways, Uttarakhand Transport Corporation is to pay Rs 53,36,668 for the land of Northern Railways which they took on lease from the railway department.
General Manager (Administration and Personnel) Nidhi Yadav said, “Yes, the order was passed last week and the first installment of Rs 10 lakh has been given to the railways. The Mussoorie-bus stand for the time being will operate from the same location till the time the railway modernisation starts.
After the work of modernisation is completed we will be provided parking space there.” According to official sources, after the railway modernisation which will be done by Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) it will depend on the state government if it provides the parking space for the bus stand on lease or for free.
It is pertinent to mention here that the lack of coordination and communication between the Railways and Uttarakhand Transport department resulted in the extended negotiation on lease payment.
The railways had issued an ultimatum to vacate its land on which Mussoorie bus stand is operating by July 31.
However, after the intervention of Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat the bus stand was permitted to operate from the same area and negotiating talks between the two department was initiated again.