The Delhi government has started the process of building budget hotels and small commercial complexes in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus depots in several parts of the city.
“We are in the process of appointing a consultant to utilise the space in view of the Commonwealth Games,” Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf said. The minister said a consultant, appointed by the government, would give the detailed report on how the scheme is to be worked out.
The government, however, has given certain broad parameters. The existing buses would be parked in underground parking space, hotels would come up along with commercial space, adequate parking would be provided to the guests and the visitors would not have to wade through the stench of diesel and emissions from the buses.
The Master Plan has incorporated the provision to build budget hotels inside the DTC depots at prime locations in the city. Earlier, Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni had written to the government to free the land for building budget hotels.
"The DTC depots at prime locations like Sarojini Nagar, Nehru Place, Sukhdev Vihar Indraprastha, Okhla, Kalkaji, Shadipur, Vasant Vihar, Patparganj, amongst others would be chosen in the first phase due to their proximity with important locations," the minister added.
The Confederation of Indian Industry and other agencies had told the government that the DTC, which is in the red, would recover its losses with the use of its depots for hotels. "They told us that a revenue of more than Rs 300 crore can be earned with the hotels and commercial establishments," Yusuf said.
Asked whether the DTC would run these hotels on its own, the minister said the expertise of the corporation was in running buses and not hotels. “We will outsource it to other agencies,” he said.
The minister said the paucity of commercial space in the city will also be met through the move.
Email Amitabh Shukla: ashukla@hindustantimes.com
The Confederation of Indian Industry and other agencies had told the government that the DTC, which is in the red, would recover its losses with the use of its depots for hotels. "They told us that a revenue of more than Rs 300 crore can be earned with the hotels and commercial establishments," Yusuf said.
Asked whether the DTC would run these hotels on its own, the minister said the expertise of the corporation was in running buses and not hotels. “We will outsource it to other agencies,” he said.
The minister said the paucity of commercial space in the city will also be met through the move.
Email Amitabh Shukla: ashukla@hindustantimes.com