Facing flak from various quarters over "poor" public transport facilities as Delhi gasps for air, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today pulled up senior officers, including the chief secretary, over delay in procurement of new buses.
The chief minister today held a meeting with Chief Secretary M M Kutty and senior officers of all departments concerned, including transport. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also attended the meeting.
"In the meeting, the chief minister expressed deep displeasure and pulled up officers over delay in procurement of buses despite the fact the court had asked the city administration to maintain a fleet of at least 11,000 buses many years ago to boost public transport," an official said.
The city has 5,594 buses operating under Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster scheme.
The official said the chief minister was "dissatisfied" with the progress of route rationalisation of buses for catering to maximum number of passengers.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot had written to Lt Governor Anil Baijal seeking directions to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to allot 135 acres of land to the city government to agument its bus fleet.
In the letter, the transport minister had also cited the August, 2007 High Court order to authorities to increase the number of buses to 11,000.
The Delhi High Court today termed the need for more buses in the city a "grave urgency" and said the AAP government needed to address it on a "war-footing".
Earlier this month, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta had alleged that the AAP government has not added even a single bus to its fleet during its tenure.
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