Delhi-UP talks on resolving bus dispute breaks down

Delhi Govt has agrees to provide a free passage to the CNG buses of UP to selected filling stations, reports Amitabh Shukla .

The dispute between Delhi and UP on plying of buses has now entered into a phase in which the issue cannot be resolved in the near future.

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Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf on Thursday told HT that the "talks have broken down as there is no meeting point". He said: "UP has adopted an intransigent approach and insists on plying buses in Delhi. We do not know, how to take the dialogue between the two states further as Delhi would never allow this," Yusuf said.

Meanwhile, the Transport Department filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court on Thursday listing the entire sequence of events from the time of crisis began, impounding of buses and the insistence of UP that it would ply its buses on city routes in the Capital. The court is expected to take up the matter on December 18.

Yusuf said that UP has set a precondition for solving the dispute. "It wants to ply around 250 of its buses from Noida and Greater Noida to 13 different points spread all across the city," he said. The Delhi government is ready to offer only three points - the three ISBTs.

At the court's directions, the Delhi government has only agreed to provide a free passage to the CNG buses of UP to selected filling stations located near the borders of the city. The buses, however, should come without any passenger.

"It is a financial loss for both the DTC and the UP Road Transport Corporation," said a DTC official.

Delhi government officials are now banking on the High Court for appropriate directions to help sort out the dispute between the two states.

Email Amitabh Shukla: ashukla@hindustantimes.com