The Delhi government has decided to propose before Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung the creation of exclusive bus lanes, similar to those that were carved out on arterial stretches during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The move comes a day after the L-G’s office asked for paperwork related to a notification about the Premium Bus service, which is scheduled to roll out next month.
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According to a senior government official, the file about the Premium Bus service will be sent to Raj Niwas along with a proposal regarding the exclusive bus lanes.
Earlier in March, Mr. Jung had refused to clear the proposal, which would entail a fine of Rs. 2,000 for any other vehicle except buses, terming it “ambiguous”.
“The L-G had returned the file to the Delhi government stating that his office required some clarifications from the Transport and Public Works Department (PWD) in relation to the proposal,” said a senior government official.
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“Both departments incorporated technical details from experts and are now ready with the final proposal. It will be despatched to Raj Niwas soon,” the official added.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment on December 1, 1998, in the M.C. Mehta vs Union of India had ruled: “buses shall be confined to the bus lane and no other motorised vehicle is permitted to enter in the bus lane...”
On March 26, 2007, the Delhi High Court in Motion vs Union of India, had ruled: “Every driver of a vehicle is expected to drive and maintain ‘proper lane driving system’ on the roads. The buses should ply in the bus lane and should be parked at the bus-bays on the bus stands. Wherever bus stands do not have proper bus-bays they should be parked at the extreme left of the road and in a queue...”
L-G’s approval
Mr. Jung’s office sought the file pertaining to the project on Tuesday, just a day after the AAP government notified its policy for app-based Premium Buses — registration for which begins on June 1.
According to Raj Niwas, the government did not seek prior approval from the L-G before notifying the scheme, with officials associated with it claiming that there was “no need to do the same”.