Kailash Gahlot seeks 9-month extension to 1,000 cluster buses before phasing out

Kailash Gahlot. Pic/X

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has directed that a nine-month extension be granted to 1,000 CNG cluster buses so that electrification work could be completed in the depots before they are taken off-road. He said the transport department's proposal of giving a three-month extension is not "reasonable".

These buses would have been taken off-road as they have completed 10 years in service. According to a communication from the transport department, 997 buses serving 109 routes would have been phased out if the concession agreements were not to be extended beyond June 19.

It would affect several routes, including Jahangirpuri to Dichaon Kalan, JLN Stadium to Daulatpur, Lado Sarai to Najafgarh, New Delhi Railway Station to Goyla Dairy, Mori Gate to Uttam Nagar, Samashpur Khalsa to ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Nehru Place to Najafgarh, and Pandwala Kalan to Tilak Nagar terminal. In a note to the transport commissioner, 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."

"Also, such small extensions keep the employees in an agitated state, which is not conducive to the overall working environment," he said in the note. He noted that even financial approval for the 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," he added.

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