Review Petition against BRT claims it is against Delhi Master Plan (MPD 2021)

Dear colleagues,

Two weeks after the Delhi high court dismissed a plea from an NGO seeking scrapping of the bus rapid transit (BRT) in South Delhi,  a fresh plea seeking a review of the said decision was filed on Tuesday.  The petitioner  claims that  the stretch from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand ( a total of 5.8 kms) is against the Master Plan of Delhi as the minimum road width required for a BRT is 150 feet (45 meters) and not 100 feet.

Court admitted the review petition and issued notices to the Government of Delhi to respond.

Here is the news report:

 

Source: The Indian Express

BRT against Master Plan norms, says petition, HC seeks govt reply
Jayant Sriram : New Delhi, Tue Nov 06 2012, 01:42 hrs

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Delhi government to respond to a review petition filed after the court dismissed a plea to scrap the Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor in South Delhi.

The review petition said the court had rejected the plea without considering the aspect that the 5.8-km stretch between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand was against norms stipulated in the Master Plan Delhi (MPD) 2021.

“The government counsel should seek instruction from the Transport department regarding the width of the road from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand by November 21,” a Bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Manmohan Singh said.

The Bench also told the counsel for the petitioner — NGO Nyaya Bhoomi — that the contention that the BRT violates MPD 2021 was not mentioned in their original writ petition.

The High Court, on October 18, held that the BRT corridor project was not an “irrational decision” of the government and had dismissed the plea to scrap it after a nine-month hearing.

The review petition has referred to the court’s observation that the controversy over the BRT erupted because the Delhi government had chosen one of the “narrowest” and most “congested” stretches for its pilot project.

“The MPD 2021 is a statutory plan and has the force of law. According to the Master Plan, the BRT cannot exist on a road less than 45 metres wide,” the plea said.

B B Sharan, president of the NGO, said: “The Master Plan states that the BRT should be on a road where the total width is 45 metres and above. However, this court has inadvertently computed 45 metres as 100 feet, whereas 45 metres is about 150 feet.”

“The MPD mandates maximum use and utilisation of the road, but in this BRT project, 45 per cent of the road space is under-utilised,” the plea said.

 

Source: The Hindustan Times

Plea seeks review of court’s BRT order
Harish V Nair, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, October 31, 2012

Two weeks after the Delhi high court dismissed a plea seeking scrapping of the bus rapid transit (BRT) in South Delhi, a fresh plea seeking a review of the decision was filed on Tuesday.

The petition says that the 5.8 km stretch between Ambedkar Nagar and Moolchand was chosen against the norms of the master plan Delhi 2021.

The HC had on October 18 said the BRT was not an ‘irrational decision’ by the government and dismissed the plea to scrap it after a nine-month hearing.

The decision came as a huge boost to the Delhi government, which had 14 more such projects in the pipeline.

The review petition, set to come up for hearing soon, heavily banks on the observation of the court that the row over the BRT erupted because the Delhi government had chosen one of the ‘narrowest’ and most ‘congested’ stretches for its pilot project.

Col BB Sharan of NGO Nyaya Bhoomi, the petitioner in the public interest litigation that sought scrapping of the project, said, “We are seeking a review of the October 18 judgment. It had ignored the norms in the MPD 2021 that specifically lays down that BRT cannot be allowed in a road which was less than 45 metres in width. If the judges consider this aspect, there could be a re-thinking on this stretch as well as other similar stretches planned in the capital.”

“In para 13 of the judgment, the court stressed that MPD 2021 is a statutory plan and has the force of law. As per the master plan, the BRT cannot exist on a road less than 45 metres in width,” said the petition.

On May 12, the court had allowed other vehicles on the BRT as part of a feasibility study undertaken by the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).

The court had opened the corridor to other vehicles after the CRRI said commuters benefited without the BRT.

—