Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed the Transport Department to dismantle the controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand. Now the Transport Department will move a Cabinet note for doing away with it.
The Delhi Government has also asked for a report from the Transport Department and experts regarding the total expenditure incurred on this project, other alternatives available for traffic management and for removing bottlenecks on this stretch. The Kejriwal Government also wants to know who proposed this stretch for the BRT corridor and why it was implemented in a hurry.
Given this directive, Transport Department officials are a worried lot because if the corridor is dismantled, it will have an adverse impact on future projects and the BRT is the only solution to end the traffic chaos in the national Capital.
Interestingly, under the Urban Development Ministry’s “Decongest Delhi” project, there are plans to construct five more BRT corridors in the city. However, sources in the Government said the move to scrap the existing project would not have any impact on the proposal since there was no opposition to BRT corridor in principle.
If the Delhi Government decides to dismantle the existing BRT corridor, then the central verge and bus stand located at the centre will also have to be removed. Top sources told The Pioneer that the Transport Department will have to move a Cabinet note to dismantle the BRT corridor as it was constructed through a Cabinet decision.
Sources said that Principal Secretary (Finance) SN Sahai, considered to be a strong supporter of the corridor, is likely to give a presentation on the BRT before dismantling the existing stretch.
The 5.8-km-long BRT corridor in South Delhi, a legacy of the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress Government, was opened on April 20, 2008 and was hailed by environmentalists and several transport experts as a solution to Delhi’s traffic woes as it would promote public transport.
However, poor implementation and bad planning resulted in massive traffic jams in lanes meant for private vehicles. Poor management often saw private vehicles enter or cross over to the bus lane, which, by virtue of being in the middle of the corridor, only created a larger mess at intersections.
After considerable public outcry, the Government experimented with various ways of operating the BRT, opening it up completely for private vehicles at one point, but all methods failed to solve the problem.
Taking a serious note of complaints by five Aam Aadmi Party MlAs against the BRT menace, Kejriwal Government has initiated the process to do away with it. Interestingly, the Transport Department has no role in operating and maintaining the BRT stretch.
Saurabh Bhardwaj, who had moved a Cabinet proposal to dismantle the BRT stretch during his 49-day-tenure as Transport Minister, said that the concept of BRT corridors is excellent but the present stretch in Delhi has been a traffic nightmare. According to Bhardwaj, Kejriwal in his first term had given an in-principle approval for scrapping of the BRT and a formal Cabinet note was to be drafted. The day this decision was taken, Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister and the matter got shelved.
Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System used to look after the operation and maintenance of the BRT corridor, but the Government had in December handed over such works to the PWD. Sheila Dikshit, who had been strongly defending the project despite widespread opposition to it, had in 2013 admitted that BRT was a mistake and that it would be dismantled if her party came to power.