Gurgaon transport project goes off track

The Haryana government's ambitious project of plying 400 low-floor buses to meet the intra- and inter-city transportation needs before Commonwealth Games might bite the dust. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

The Haryana government's ambitious project of plying 400 low-floor buses to meet the intra- and inter-city transportation needs before Commonwealth Games might bite the dust. Tardy bureaucratic process has delayed the project. The Haryana Transport department has even not formulated the terms and condition of the tender to be floated for the private players to invite them for the open bidding process.

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Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had announced on January 29 that the state government would arrange 750 buses, of which 400 would hit the Gurgaon roads by October.

But Haryana's finance commissioner (transport and aviation) Samir Mathur said, "This is the first of its kind PPP (public-private partnership) project and we are very careful in formulating the guidelines and terms and conditions for the Expression of Interest (EOI) that we have to float for inviting bids from the private sector companies."

Mathur said since the process was lengthy and might take time, he would not like to confirm whether the project start before the Games or not.

"However, we would be making an alternate arrangement for the local people as well as visitors to the Games. We already have started eight to 10 low-floor buses in Gurgaon and we would like to add more such buses depending upon the need," he said.

Conducted for the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG), the study had strongly recommended an effective public mode of transportation system with private sector participation. It also highlighted a need of 400 buses and expansion of Metro rail network.