Ambedkar Nagar to Delhi Gate BRT stretch handed over to PWD

The Delhi government has decided to hand over the bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor between Ambedkar Nagar and Delhi Gate to the Public Works Department (PWD), officials said Friday.

"The existing BRT corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Delhi Gate will be handed over to PWD for the purposes of operation and maintenance," a letter written by the transport department of the Delhi government to the PWD secretary said.

"The Intelligent Signalling System (ISS) will be be maintained by Delhi Traffic Police and the street lights on the corridor shall be maintained by the PWD," it said.

The letter further said that the revenue earnings from the bus queue shelters (BQS) would be paid to the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) and the maintenance of BQS would be looked after by the corporation.

The Delhi BRT has remained controversy's favourite child ever since its inception in 2008. Following the initial south Delhi corridor, a court case sealed the fate of the project and construction of 14 similar corridors was put on hold.

The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) has said that commuters would benefit if the BRT was scrapped.

Delhi's former chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, who was a strong supporter of the project, finally acknowledged its problems during the last election campaign and said it would be scrapped despite crores of public money being spent on building it.