DDA hands Delhi govt 12-acre plot in Rohini for bus depot

The land is among three plots bought by Delhi govt from DDA for ₹90.5 crore

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Monday handed over 12 acres of land in Rohini Sector 37 to the state government for building a bus depot.

Delhi currently has 5,425 buses under the DTC and cluster service which are parked in 262 acres of depots located across the city. (HT File)

The land will accommodate around 300 buses, even as the rollout of the proposed 2,000 additional buses is going to take at least a year. The land is among a total of three plots bought by the Delhi government from the DDA at a total cost of ₹90.5 crore.

“Payment for 32 acres of land at Rohini sector 37 and 32 and Vasant Kunj was made to the DDA. Now, possession of the land in Rohini sector 32 and Vasant Kunj are left. The authority has said that these plots are stuck in some litigation so it is taking time,” an official said.

However, transport minister Kailash Gahlot sought more area, saying it would facilitate procurement of more buses. “Happy that DDA has handed over possession of 12.25 acres of land in Rohini today. Hope DDA will hand over more land parcels immediately so that government can get more buses and augment public transport (sic),” Gahlot said.

The DDA’s move comes days after the transport minister, last week, had written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal seeking that he direct the DDA to allot 135 acres of land to the government to complete its bus fleet.

Currently, Delhi has 5,425 buses under the DTC and cluster service which are parked in 262 acres of depots located across the city. While depots for the cluster buses are full, DTC officials said that their existing depots are underutilised as old buses get phased out from time to time.

For the new 200 buses for which tenders would be floated soon, the government has identified its own land in areas like Mundela Kalan, Dera Mandi and Rani Khera.