Centre, AAP Govt spar as Kejriwal promises women free travel in DTC buses also

With Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing free ride for women in Delhi Metro and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, the tug of war between the Central Government and the Delhi Government has begun.

Moreover, the Delhi Metro authorities are not on the same page as they feel the Delhi CM’s proposal is not financially viable and is also difficult to implement. The Fare Fixation Committee of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is the competent body to take any decision in this regard.

The Delhi Government on Monday proposed a plan to allow free travel for female passengers in the metro and the DTC buses. However, the move has been labeled as a mere poll agenda. The Opposition criticised the move as “populist” and aimed to “mislead” people ahead of Assembly polls due early next year.

Kejriwal on Monday asked the DMRC and DTC to draft a plan within a week to implement the scheme by next 2-3 months.

“The Delhi Government has 50 per cent share in Delhi Metro... The scheme is neither possible nor can be implemented in such a short time as making the public transport completely free is a big revenue loss but if the Government is ready to bear the subsidy and total cost, it may be possible,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The official added, “There will be many hurdles as it is impossible both sustainably as well as technically. Even if DMRC will find ways it will take time to implement it. It is a long process.”

While a Government official who wished not to be named said, “As the Central Government have 50 per cent stake in the Delhi Metro, the Delhi Government first will have to send the proposal to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal for approval.”

As per the sources, the Government will also need to seek permission from the other departments and agencies involved such as the finance department, LG’s office and Union Housing and Urban Development Affairs Ministry. “There is fixation committee of the DMRC, which is quasi, judicial, and it will have to look into whether there is a role for the committee in this scheme,” said sources.

In a meanwhile, the Kejriwal during the announcement of the project said, “If the Centre did not pay heed to our objections against the fare hike. In this case we will bear the burden. If the scheme is implemented by the month of August-September, the expenditure for this financial year would be around 700 to 800 crores.”

It may be noted that the Central Government in the end of last year proposed a plan to provide concessions to senior citizen, disabled in the metro. The Delhi Metro which has been asked to draft a plan on this proposal is also on process. However, as per process there is no concrete update on the project.

Kejriwal further added that the woman who can afford, can buy ticket and travel and those who cannot afford there expenses will be bear by the Delhi Government, adding to it he said that DMRC and DTC has been given a seven days time to draft the plan and once the plan will be readied, the CM will call a special session of the Delhi Assembly will be called for budgetary provisions.

The Government will also seek suggestions from people on how to implement the scheme for which it has created digital platform delhimetrowomensafety.com where people can send their suggestion.

The Chief Minister rejected the suggestion the move will lead to congestion in Metro trains. He said around 1,000 buses will be rolled out by November to boost the DTC fleet. “In next 12 months, around 3,000 new buses will be delivered. Further citing the ridership data of metro and bus, he added around 30-33 per cent daily ridership in buses and metro trains comprise women commuters.”The step will not lead to congestion in Delhi Metro trains as daily ridership will increase by just one lakh. Currently 25 lakh people travel by metro trains every day.”

DTC buses have a daily ridership of 40 lakh and the DTC and the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal System (DIMTS)-run cluster buses number around 5,500.

There are marshals in all DTC buses for safety of women passengers and directions have been given to depute them on cluster buses as well. All buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras, he said.

“These are two major announcements which will boost the safety of women who feel quite unsafe in the city,” said the Chief Minister.

He further added, “The female workforce participation nationally is 27%, however, it is only 11% in Delhi. This makes it clear that the number of working women is quite low in Delhi. We hope that the scheme will encourage more and more of our women folk to go out to work.”

Between the years of 2017 and 2019, the increase in the metro line is around 55%. While the total length was 212 kilometres in the year of 2017, it has increased to 327 kilometres in 2019. However, the hike in the fares has led to the dip in the ridership. 

While the Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari dubbed the move “populist” and said Kejriwal “seems to have lost his mental balance” and was making the announcement in view of the coming Assembly election. He is trying to recover the ground his party lost in Lok Sabha polls,” said Tiwari.

BOX (Important)

Length                -                       317 km

Total number of station -          272

Number of woman ridership    7-8 lakh (approx.) per day

Total number of ridership-          25 lakh

Number of trains-                      320- 340

Number of trips per day-          4000 trips