The BJP might have opposed former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor project but the NDA Government has decided to give a major thrust to it.
“The Government wants to promote the use of public transport...We want the public to shift to the use of public transport, which is not only environment friendly but will also help in reducing road congestion,” said an official of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry.
“The Bill provides for safer mobility for pedestrians and cyclists by creating dedicated passages for their movement, which exists in BRT set-ups,” added the official.
The draft ‘Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014’ envisages a “safer and more efficient infrastructure” with stress on providing impetus to BRT and intra-city transport. The BRT, which is a bus-based mass transit system, has a specialised design of the road, services and infrastructure to improve and encourage the use of public transport. In the Delhi BRT Corridor project, the first route planned was from Ambedkar Nagar in south to Delhi Gate in the centre of the city passing through some of the prime ‘colonies’ (urban districts) in south Delhi. However, only the 5.8-km stretch from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand could be operationalised. In all, 21 BRT Corridors were proposed which never took off.
The BRT project created a major controversy because of lack of enforcement, longer traffic signal cycle times, fewer buses on route and difficulty in accessing bus stops, which were created in the centre of the roads.
The BJP slammed Dikshit on the basis of a CAG report, which termed it “an ill-conceived project”. Former leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly V K Malhotra dubbed it a “foolish” project citing the report. The Opposition blamed Delhi Government for wasting tax payers’ money, offering undue favours to construction agencies and allowing incompetent authority to develop the BRT corridor.
The project’s legality was challenged in Delhi High Court in 2012. Initially, the Court allowed private vehicles to ply on BRT corridors and ordered the government to review project feasibility. But subsequently, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of the scheme concluding that “a developed country is not one where the poor own cars. It is one where the rich use public transport.”
However, prior to the Assembly elections in Delhi, Dikshit had announced to scrap the project. The NDA Government’s push to the use of BRT corridors is expected to give a new lease of life to the concept.
The draft Bill proposes to create standards and guidelines for road infrastructure development, classification, design and construction, which was non-existent in the previous MV Act, 1988. The new Bill also proposes formal audits required for new road construction.