Image: IE
After several failed attempts, the Delhi Cabinet on Friday once again approved the addition of 2,000 new buses, 1,000 each to be run by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the private bus services. Transport minister, Kailash Gahlot said, “This is a great message for DTC workers — that they will do the maintenance of the buses themselves… Anyone who said DTC was a dying organisation will be proved wrong.”
It was back in 2009 when the DTC procured buses, when they got 3,775 vehicles. As per planning department documents, despite repeated tenders since then and multiple cabinet proposals, the “main reason for failure… was the procurement of buses with Annual Maintenance Contract” from the manufacturers “for the entire life span of the vehicle”.
In a meeting chaired by CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi cabinet approved the two proposals, to procure 1,000 fully built non-AC CNG propelled standard size buses with standard floor height of 900, and 1,000 fully built CNG propelled standard size buses.
According to officials, the estimated cost of each is Rs 330 crore for DTC buses and a viability gap funding of Rs 211 crore per year for the cluster buses.