By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Tuesday said the issue of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor’s viability was being politicised and the government planned to move the Supreme Court to present the common man’s views on the project.
“Some people are politicising the issue of BRT. This BRT project is for the common man and because of the vested interest of some people obstacles have come in the way,” Dikshit told reporters here.
“The BRT project was approved by the centre and we will keep the people’s side before the Supreme Court,” she said.
The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) in its recent report indicated that the city roads could do without the BRT corridor.
The CRRI report was submitted to the Delhi High Court and the Delhi government’s transport department.
The 5.8 km stretch of BRT corridor – between Moolchand and Ambedkar Nagar in south Delhi – was introduced in 2008 and designed on the model of Bogota city in Colombia to make bus and bicycle travel safer and faster, and encourage travel that does not involve cars.
While hearing a petition by NGO Nyayabhoomi, the court asked the CRRI to conduct trial runs on the corridor.
The CRRI report said the “No BRT” option yielded better benefits for this corridor with the given traffic conditions.
“The results of the experimental trial run conducted on the above corridor reiterated the fact that allowing other vehicles to ply on the lane earmarked for buses was better for vehicles and pedestrians,” said the report.