Govt trying to revive DTC: CM

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said that her government is trying to revive the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), whose losses rose to Rs 97,000 crore. Addressing a BJP worker meeting in Rohini, the CM also said that the Delhi government has targeted to strengthen public transport by raising the number of e-buses in the city to 11,000 in the next few years.

The losses of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) are as high as the budget of Delhi. The budget of Delhi is Rs 1 lakh crore, while the DTC had losses of Rs 97,000 crore, she said.

“In the last 10 months, we have tried to revive the DTC. The previous government in Delhi handed over the entire operations of DTC to Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS), including running buses, finalising routes and hiring staff,” she said. This threw the DTC into crisis and forced DTC drivers and conductors to sit idle, she said.

“But we are gradually rectifying it by solving various issues, including payment of pensions. The bus operations have been taken away from the DIMTS and now the DTC will operate them,” Gupta said.

The government is working to convert the entire public transport buses into e-buses. Currently, there are 5,500 buses, she said.

“Our target is to raise the number of buses to 7,500 by the end of this year and a further 11,000 in the next two years,” Gupta said.

The entire business fleet will be electric, she added.

Our target is to raise the number of buses to 7,500 by the end of this year and a further 11,000 in the next two years

            — Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister