Naresh threatens to retaliate
TRANSPORT MINISTER Naresh Agarwal today warned the Delhi Government against imposing a ban on plying of UPSRTC buses in Delhi and said he could also retaliate and issue a similar order that could cause heavy losses and problems to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
The minister, however, expressed the confidence that the dispute would be amicably solved during his meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit scheduled to be held on Thursday in Delhi.
Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, the Transport Minister dubbed his counterpart in the Delhi Government, Haroon Yusuf, ‘childish’. He said else he would not have taken such a decision that could boomerang.
He warned that the UP Government could also ban plying of the DTC buses in Uttar Pradesh which cover, on an average, 1.50 lakh kilometre in the State. “On an average UPSRTC buses cover not more than 7000 kilometre in Delhi,” he said.
Agarwal claimed that so far UPSRTC and DTC buses were freely plying in the two States under an agreement signed by the two governments in 2004.
As per the agreement, he informed, DTC buses were allowed to cover a distance of 90,000 kilometres in UP while the permission was granted to the UPSRTC buses to travel a distance of 30,000 kilometres in Delhi every day. However, the UP Government did not raise any objection to the DTC buses covering a distance of 1.50 lakh kilometres per day in UP and as such there was no justification on imposing a ban on plying of new CNG buses of the UPSRTC in Delhi, he added.
{{/usCountry}}As per the agreement, he informed, DTC buses were allowed to cover a distance of 90,000 kilometres in UP while the permission was granted to the UPSRTC buses to travel a distance of 30,000 kilometres in Delhi every day. However, the UP Government did not raise any objection to the DTC buses covering a distance of 1.50 lakh kilometres per day in UP and as such there was no justification on imposing a ban on plying of new CNG buses of the UPSRTC in Delhi, he added.
{{/usCountry}}He regretted that eight UPSRTC buses were not allowed to enter Delhi and all the buses were impounded on the Delhi-UP border on the very first day that the UPSRTC launched the bus service between Greater NOIDA, NOIDA and Delhi on November 13. As many as 150 ordinary and 75 airconditioned CNG buses had been pressed into service by the UPSRTC for better service to commuters, he informed.
The minister said he had apprised Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav of the existing stalemate and even he had urged Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit to reconsider the decision of ban on plying of UPSRTC buses.