The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor in South Delhi, which was mired in controversy, is turning into ruin for want of proper maintenance. The crumbled yellow barriers tied together with ropes and scattered dissect lane stones along with stretch spanning from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand, are a common sight.
Private security guards deployed at the 5.8-km remain mute spectators and lane discipline is hardly followed here. Dislodged stones, loose railing and lack of enforcement pose serious threat to commuters, particularly at night.
The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) responsible for maintenance of the corridor has attributed the deteriorating condition of the once ambitious corridor to lack of funds. They said money is supposed to be provided by the Transport Department. The organisation claims it has not received any funds for the past four years and has been trying its best to maintain the stretch with meagre funds. “The BRT fund, which was created in 2009, has been utilised for the maintenance of the corridor. The funds were supposed to be replenished by the Transport Department which has not happened so far. We have been carrying out basic maintenance work on the revenue generated through advertisements,” said Smita John, spokesperson, DIMTS. Meanwhile, the Transport Department, on the other hand, said it had decided to hand over the corridor to the Public Works Department (PWD) for better maintenance.
According to DIMTS officials, the operational expenditure, which includes activities like traffic management, security, cleaning and horticulture, amounts to Rs 4 crore per year and more than Rs 2 crore is spent yearly for maintenance and operation of the Intelligent Signalling System (ISS). These costs are being maintained through advert generated revenue, which is around Rs 6 crore per annum. The officials claim the revenue is insufficient as it does not cover other expenses like engineering, maintenance of streetlights, roads, lifts, elevators and road markings, which amount to Rs 3 crore. “We need at least Rs 10 crore for proper maintenance of the corridor. The Transport Department has to provide us funds for the proper infrastructure and maintenance of the corridor,” added John.
Acknowledging monetary constraints, the Transport Department officials said funds would be released shortly. “We haven’t released any funds in the last one year. We are planning to hand over maintenance of BRT to PWD for their expertise in roads although funds to DIMTS will be released,” said an official in the Transport Department.