BJP, AAP locked in spat over e-bus procurement

The BJP on Monday alleged that the government had taken the decision to procure 1,000 electric buses in “haste, without any concrete planning” for its infrastructure.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are again at loggerheads, this time over the procurement of 1,000 low-flow electric buses. The BJP on Monday alleged that the government had taken the decision to procure 1,000 electric buses in “haste, without any concrete planning” for its infrastructure.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are again at loggerheads, this time over the procurement of 1,000 low-flow electric buses. (Photo by Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times)(Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

The BJP said the government neither had depots to park these buses nor the power infrastructure to charge them. “Of the six bus depots approved to house these buses, five do not even exist on the ground,” Vijender Gupta, leader of the opposition, said.

He said, “East Vinod Nagar and Burari are part of the protected forests and no permission had been taken so far from the forest department to construct depots at these places. At the remaining sites, either the work has not started or land is yet to be transferred to the government.”

Addressing a joint press conference, Gupta and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari alleged that the government had altered the specification for electric charging stations and the timeline for its completion. “As per the original report of the power department, 66 KV connections are required for charging electric buses at the depot and it will take 18 to 24 months to make this provision…But the report has been changed and now it says 11KV connections will be required and it will take six months to provide the facility. This is totally unrealistic,” Gupta claimed.

The AAP hit back, calling the BJP’s allegations “laughable”.

In a point-by-point rebuttal, , AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The cabinet note already identifies the six depots where 1,000 buses will be accommodated (Rohini Sector 37, Mundhela Kalan, Burari, East Vinod Nagar, Sarai Kale Khan and Bamnauli). All these depots are at different stages of tendering and completion and their readiness will be aligned with the delivery schedule of buses.”

On charging facilities, Bharadwaj said, “The time required to make the power infrastructure ready at depots varies from 6 to 12 months based on the number of electric buses that have to be charged and the capacity of the nearest grid. Here again, the completion schedule of power infrastructure will be aligned with the delivery schedule of buses.”

Questioning the timing of the allegations, Bharadwaj said the BJP has vested interests in making the Delhi government’s project fail. “The BJP has realised that even after putting all obstacles in the path of this project, Delhi government has succeeded in getting it cleared and is now on track to implement it so that Delhi becomes the electric vehicle capital of India. In fact, Delhi’s commitment for 1000 e-buses happened at the same time the Modi government cleared FAME II scheme, under which it promised support for 7,000 buses for all over India. So, Delhi, with 1.4% of India’s population, has already committed to 14% of India’s electric bus fleet. Clearly, the BJP has a vested interest in making this project fail,” Bharadwaj said.

The government said the first lot of buses will arrive within six months of award of work.