BRT corridor will stay: Centre

A day after the Comptroller and Auditor General slammed the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor as ill-conceived and faulty, the Centre strongly defended the project in Parliament, report HT Political Bureau & Anuradha Mukherjee.

A day after the Comptroller and Auditor General slammed the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor as ill-conceived and faulty, the Centre strongly defended the project in Parliament.

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Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken told Rajya Sabha the number of accidents on the stretch had come down after its construction.

“Delhi government has informed that though a few accidents have taken place, the total number of accidents on the stretch has come down after the construction of the BRT due to segregation of traffic,” Maken said.

Quoting a study by consultant DIMTS, Maken said cyclists, pedestrians and bus users have praised the corridor

“A socio economic study on the corridor was carried out by DIMTS. The pedestrians, cyclists and bus users have praised the corridor and strongly advocated its replication to encourage use of Non Motorised Vehicles and public transport,” he said.

“Significant reduction in travel time for buses has been observed, accidents have also come down,” Maken said.

He ruled out any rethinking on the project and said detailed engineering designs have been approved on two corridors.

Delhi transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely also said on Thursday the government would go ahead with the next phase of the works.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, he said the BRT was the answer to Delhi’s transportation woes and there was no replacement for it.

“There can be no replacement for the BRT as a concept. Buses are the only way out for us. This is a new project and there may be some shortcomings here and there. I will ensure that the new BRT corridors are good both for motorists and bus users,” said Lovely. He said that while he was yet to go through the report, he was open to any positive suggestions.