Budget: Rs 5,085 cr proposed for Transport sector

To improve public transport in the national capital, the Delhi government today proposed Rs 5,085 crore for the sector which is the third highest grant after education and health in the 2015-16 Budget.
Presenting the budget, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said private sector financing will be sought to enhance investments in transport sector.
Appropriate model of PPP will be created to attract private sector to develop, operate and maintain roads in the capital, he said.
"I have talked of smart city and to my mind a smart city is one which focuses on moving people rather than vehicles. It is a city which makes mobility accessible and affordable.

"The total proposed expenditure in Transport Sector in 2015-16 is Rs 5,085 crore. I propose Plan Budget of Rs 3,695 crore for Transport Sector in 2015-16 which is 23 per cent more than the amount spent in 2014-15," Sisodia said.
"I propose to enhance investment in roads sector through massive private sector financing," he said.

Sisodia said that government is committed to improving public transport system to discourage people from driving their private vehicles.
"Government will procure about 1380 semi low floor buses, 500 mini buses under DTC and around 1000 more buses under Cluster scheme will be deployed by the end of 2016.

"We propose to bring 10,000 buses of different specifications to meet the differentiated needs of commuters, from the private sector under the PPP Cluster scheme. To do so we will need about 500 acres of land for bus depots from DDA," the Deputy CM said.
He also said that about 5,500 new auto permits are being released for plying in the NCR.
New bus terminals will be constructed at Dwarka, Rohini Sector-28 and Narela. About 1200 new bus queue shelters are proposed to be constructed, he added.
He said that public transport requires integration and dissemination of information.
Today, there is an information gap about public transport. Our government will introduce 'Passenger Information System' to provide real-time information to commuters. This will further be integrated and made available in a mobile application, Sisodia said.

We will work towards a single fare system on a single media for payment, he added.
The six corridors in Phase-III Metro project has a plan for expansion of 117.57 km of Metro Rail network in Delhi. Two corridors of Phase-III in Delhi are likely to be completed in the current financial year, the Dy CM said.
Phase-II of elevated road over Barapullah Nallah from Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium to INA (Aurbindo Marg) is going to be completed in the current financial year, he added.
In order to provide last mile connectivity, we are promoting e-Rickshaw in Delhi. Special camps for e-Rickshaw were organized and about 24,000 drivers got enrolled in these camps, he said.