Plea on Millennium bus depot: HC's contempt notice to govt

The Delhi High Court has sought response from the city government along with DDA on a plea seeking contempt proceedings over failure to comply with the court's order to amend the Delhi Master Plan, 2021 for making permanent the Millennium bus depot on Yamuna bank.
Issuing notice to the Vice Chairman DDA and Chairman and Managing Director of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Justice G S Sistani sought their replies by September 13 on a contempt plea filed by Anand Arya.
Ayra said a divison bench of this court had granted six months time to the government to amend the Master Plan (MPD) while directing that if it fails to amend the MPD in the given time, the bus depot will have to be re-located but no step has been taken so far.

In September last year, the bench had disposed of a plea filed by Arya alleging that the government had constructed the bus depot temporarily for the Commonwealth Games after which it should have been dismantled, leaving the area in its original form as flood plain.
The petition said building such depot near Nizamuddin bridge would also cause environmental disaster as it is located on the active flood plain and water recharging area.
"The petitions are disposed of by granting six months to respondents (Delhi Government) to take steps to make changes in the Master Plan, if it is possible, by changing the land use and bringing it in conformity with the present use. In case, the Master Plan is amended in this manner, the natural consequence thereof would be that the bus depot would continue to operate from the given site.

"If attempt to amend the Master Plan fails, there would be no option but to re-locate the bus depot to some other place. In that event, it will be for the DTC to ask the DDA to allot alternate site and feasibility of site at Mayur Vihar can also be considered at that stage," the bench had said.