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Chandigarh admn to build 209 new bus queue shelters in 9 months
The total project cost is pegged at ₹12 to 14 crore and the work is slated to begin next month; UT chief engineer says tenders will soon be floated
After failing to attract firms to build bus queue shelters in the city under the public private partnership (PPP) model, the Chandigarh administration has decided to go ahead with the project on its own.
Now, the UT engineering department will construct 209 new shelters and refurbish 200 old ones.
Confirming the development, UT chief engineer CB Ojha said, “We will soon be floating the tenders for the project and the work is expected to start in a month’s time.”
The project is slated to be completed within nine months at a cost of around ₹12 crore to ₹14 crore.
The project gained additional importance recently with the UT transport department implementing the intelligent transport system (ITS). With delay in the construction of the shelters, the transport department could install ‘Passenger Information Display Screens’ only at 37 bus queue shelters. The screens are essential for the project and give information regarding bus routes, arrival and departure times besides other related information to commuters.
Controversies mar progress
The project has been hanging fire for more than a decade. It has been delayed on account of the design to be selected, choice of the agency to complete the project, model for its implementation and no firm turning up to implement it.
The initial decision of the engineering department to go for stainless steel bus shelters had elicited criticism from different quarters, particularly architects and heritage protection groups. It had even installed 60 stainless steel bus shelters in 2013 at a cost of around ₹8 crore, with each shelter costing about ₹13 lakh.
Critics opined that concrete shelters could be constructed at half of this cost. The design and material of the steel shelters also didn’t go along with the original design of the concrete shelters which was in line with overall architectural plan of the city, critics had said.
Under pressure, the department had in 2017 reversed its decision and decided to opt for structures made of concrete on the lines of the original bus queue shelters in the city.
Model concrete design to be followed
“We will follow the design of the model concrete shelter constructed between Sectors 17 and 18. This will be replicated across the city now for new construction and refurbishment of old structures,” Ojha said.
The department’s plan to implement the project on ‘built operate and transfer’ (BOT) model couldn’t be realised. Under the model, the firm was to construct the shelters, maintain them and in return could generate revenue from advertisement. The department floated tenders six times, but could get the requisite response. Notably, one firm even approached the Punjab and Haryana high court over some tender-related issues.
“There was apprehension among the firms that due to the pandemic, they would not be able to generate enough revenue to cover the cost of construction and management of the bus queue shelters. So, the response to our tenders remained subdued,” Ojha added.
