JAIPUR: UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal informed the assembly on Tuesday that the BRTS corridor had turned out to be a failure in Jaipur. The minister said the corridor could not be removed as the Centre was not allowing it. If removed, the Centre wanted the money spent on the corridor back with interest. He said the Centre was insisting on implementing the other two phases of the corridor, which the state government had turned down.
Dhariwal said the BRTS was conceived in 2007 following the need of a rapid transport system. He said at that time, it was considered appropriate to make BRTS, under which a master plan of mass traffic transport system of 138km was prepared. He said that the proposal for a bus-based traffic system of 46km length was taken up under JNNURM in the first two phases. He said 50% amount was spent by the central government, 20% by the state government and 30% by JDA under the scheme. After two phases, the DPR of BRTS was changed in 2008 as the corridor was found not so beneficial. The government took up construction of Ajmer elevated road and Durgapura elevated road in lieu of the last two phases of the corridor.
He said though two meetings have been held with the central government regarding the utility of the scheme and removal of BRTS, New Delhi was not only the removal of the corridor but insisting on constructing the remaining ones.
He said the state government would have to return the Centre’s share if the corridors were removed and in future, there would be problems in availing the centrally-sponsored schemes
Earlier, Dhariwal in a written reply to the original question of MLA Subhash Poonia said currently there was no proposal to remove the corridor.
