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New Delhi: Three days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government announced free Metro rides for women in the national capital, the BJP-led central government wrote to it asking to “expedite” approval for procurement of 427 Metro feeder buses.

The electric buses are meant to ensure last-mile connectivity for the Metro system in the capital and the proposal for their procurement had come from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

In the letter dated 6 June, accessed by ThePrint, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra points out that the proposal was first sent to the Delhi government for approval in January 2018 and urges the Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev to intervene in this “important issue”.

The AAP government had announced free public transport for women on 3 June, three days prior to the letter.

According to central government officials, the viability gap — cost incurred in running the feeder bus service after deducting the revenue earned — needs to be funded by the Delhi government as last-mile connectivity is “not technically” the responsibly of DMRC.

“They are willing to spend over Rs 1,500 crore on the free Metro ride proposal since assembly polls are around the corner, and this is a way to lure woman voters,” said a senior official in the central government. “But a proposal for last mile connectivity through these buses, which is expected to cost around Rs 200 crore is still hanging in the air due to lack of approvals.”

AAP spokesperson and media adviser Nagendar Sharma told ThePrint that the Delhi government “does not comment on internal communication”.

Despite repeated efforts over three days to get a comment from Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, there was no response from him.

Also read: BJP against free Delhi Metro rides as it wants to keep women at home: AAP’s Raghav Chadha

‘Proposal first sent in January 2018’

In his letter, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra mentions that the DMRC had informed the Centre that it had submitted the proposal for providing VGF (Viability Gap Funding) for procurement of 427 electric buses to the Delhi government in January 2018.

“The issue has been flagged by DMRC with State Transport Authority (STA) on numerous occasions and they have provided all necessary clarification and details,” states Mishra, adding the STA, Government of Delhi, has agreed in principle to support the proposal.

He further says the proposed procurement of electric feeder buses will not only reduce congestion, vehicular pollution and accidents but also enhance the ridership of Delhi Metro.

“I request you (chief secretary) to kindly intervene in this important issue and expedite approval of GNCTD on VGF proposal of DMRC for procurement of electric buses for last-mile connectivity,” the letter states.

The proposed feeder buses are supposed to have inbuilt GPS and CCTV cameras. Like the existing buses, these too are to have smart card fare deduction systems.

Also read: Delhi Metro makes it to the 10 busiest metro systems in the world

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