The local area development scheme funds that MLAs and MPs have are the only rays of hope for bus commuters braving the sun this summer.
With the proposal for the construction of modern bus shelters in 1,084 bus stops continuing to be mired in legal wrangles, residents are forcing their MPs and MLAs to use the funds given to them to build bus shelters.
The Chennai Corporation proposal, envisaging uniformly-designed, stainless steel shelters, was mooted four years ago, but only about 10 per cent of them have materialised so far.
Many roads such as CTH Road, Red Hills Road, Inner Ring Road, Tirumangalam Main Road, Valluvar Kottam High Road, Haddows Road, College Road, Cathedral Road and NSK Salai have already been identified by MLAs this year for the construction of bus shelters.
This week alone, 18 tenders were floated for bus shelters in roads including P.T. Rajan Salai, Kamaraj Salai, G.N. Chetty Road, Venkatnarayana Road Ashok Nagar Seventh Avenue, Arya Gowda Road and Thyagaraya Road.
Every year, both during the summer and in the monsoon season, bus commuters suffer as they have no access to shade or shelter.
Three years ago, the civic body removed 377 unauthorised shelters, but has made no move to provide commuters with authorised ones.
The legal tangle over the proposed shelters has also led to the Corporation’s losing revenue, as it generally earns an annual amount that comes via advertisements.
Last year, the Corporation floated bids for the construction of these shelters under a public-private partnership mode, but failed to get adequate responses.
While the Metropolitan Transport Corporation has over 2,000 bus stops in the city, the Corporation has authorised only around 1,150.
