Kejri's govt dismantles Sheila's BRT

Cabinet decides to scrap Rs 150-cr bus corridor

Scenes of cars stuck in long traffic jams on the Bus Rapid Transit corridor in south Delhi may soon end with the city government on Tuesday deciding to dismantle the corridor’s exclusive bus lane.

While announcing the scrapping of the BRT corridor, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government took the big step in view of the accidents taking place on the 5.8-km corridor between Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand.

“The cabinet has taken an in-principle decision to scrap the project,” said Sisodia.“We have to save lives,” said Sisodia, clarifying that the government was not against promoting public transport or the concept of the BRT, but wanted to scrap the Delhi BRT model which had failed in its current form.

Residents of residential colonies along the corridor had also voiced their inconvenience ahead of the Assembly elections and sought its scrapping.

The previous Sheila Dikshit government built the Rs 150-crore corridor in 2008 and defended it in court by justifying that it offered speedy movement of public transport buses which were used by those who cannot afford cars.

The corridor was originally planned to be built up to Delhi Gate over a distance of 14.5 km, but the exclusive bus lane along the divider of the two carriageways was provided only up to Moolchand.

“There are successful BRT models across the world. Our Delhi BRT model failed. To strengthen public transport, the BRT is needed,” he said without elaborating whether the AAP government will revive the BRT corridors in a new form.

Sisodia said the Transport Department will be directed to prepare a report on it.Under Dikshit, the Delhi government planned five more BRT corridors: Karawal Nagar to Mori Gate, Gazipur to National Stadium, Badarpur to IGI Airport, Dilshad Garden to Tikri Border and Bhopura Border to Janakpuri District Centre.

In a report in 2013, the Central Road Research Institute had favoured dismantling the corridor as it found that the speed of the vehicles was considerably lower on the BRT stretch.

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta has now sought an inquiry into the alleged “wastage of funds” on the controversial project by the Sheila Dikshit government.