Stretches to set up new BRT corridors to be identified

The Delhi government will identify new road stretches for setting up new bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors, months after the only such carriageway built by the Sheila Dikshit government was dismantled due to its "poor design".

The state Transport Department has proposed to conduct a thorough study to find out stretches where BRT corridors are feasible.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government had dismantled the six kilometre Moolchand-Ambedkar Nagar BRT corridor, a Rs 180 crore traffic project built in 2008, saying that it was built without proper planning.

The government, however, did accept that the concept of such corridors was not bad.

In January last year, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had started the process of dismantling the BRT corridor by striking a hammer.

AAP had, before the 2015 Assembly elections, promised to dismantle the BRT corridor as "it was causing traffic snarls" on the stretch.

"As per the plan, the Transport department will identify such road stretches where new BRT corridors can come up. They will be built only after proper planning so that such structures do not cause traffic snarls later, as we saw in the case of the previous BRT corridor," a senior government official said.

The official said that after the proposal is cleared by the Transport Commissioner, it will be sent for the approval of higher government authorities.

The Kejriwal government has proposed two elevated corridors, one along Anand Vihar Terminal to Peeragarhi (East-West Corridor, 29 km) and the other from Wazirabad to Airport (North-South Corridor, 24 km).

The government also appointed consultants to conduct a feasibility study and prepare a corridor improvement plan. On successful implementation of the two elevated BRT corridors, the government wants to implement it across Delhi.