Let cluster buses ply for another 9 months: Delhi Transport Minister to department
The city has 7,852 buses of which 4,435 are run by DTC while 3,147 come under cluster bus service.
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Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot (File Photo)Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has directed the transport department to give an extension of nine months to 1,000 cluster buses, which were set to go off-road next week, to avert a transport crisis and job losses to workers.
The direction comes a few days after the department said it was willing to consider giving a three-month extension to buses that have completed 10 years.
Last week, The Indian Express had reported that the transport department has decided to phase out 997 CNG-fuelled cluster buses, which are completing their 10-year contract on June 19. While the minister asked the department not to phase out the buses until an alternative arrangement is made, the concessionaires also moved court seeking extension. The court gave them a one-month relief, till July 15.
In a recent communication to Transport department, Gahlot said, “…The stipulation with regard to the extension being limited to three months only cannot be appreciated. Considering the schedule of electrification of depots, it does not appear that three months is a reasonable period.”
He further said, “Also, such small extensions keep the employees in an agitated stage, which is not conducive to the overall working environment. Considering the fact that even financial approval for electrification of many of the depots has not yet been given, I do not find any reason to restrict the extension to three months. Accordingly, the extension may initially be done for a period of nine months…”
A senior transport official said, “We recommended an extension of three months as the buses are old and by the end of the extension period, the depots too would be electrified…. We will consider the minister’s directions for a nine-month extension.”
Meanwhile, frequent bus passengers are already facing problems with several cluster bus drivers and conductors protesting at various depots such as Rajghat, Kair, Seemapuri, Dilshad Garden, Dichaon Kalan and others against the closure of bus depots, phasing out of the buses, and their imminent job losses. Around three cluster depots have already been shut.
The city has 7,852 buses of which 4,435 are run by DTC while 3,147 come under cluster bus service.
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