DTC chose Yamuna bank over other sites for bus depot: RTI (The Hindu 11 February 2011)

DDA had offered several other permanent sites
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority had offered the Delhi Transport Corporation several sites for construction of bus depots to meet the demand for shelters during the Commonwealth Games and yet the DTC chose to stick to the temporary site on the Yamuna floodplains. This was revealed in a reply to a query filed under the Right to Information Act by Vinod Jain, head of the non-government Tapas.
Mr. Jain, who is fighting for the removal of DTC's temporary bus shelter from the Yamuna floodplains, has alleged that despite the DDA's assurance that they will meet the land requirements for construction of bus depots across the city, the DTC chose to construct a depot on the floodplains, a prohibited site for construction.
“The DDA has clearly told the DTC that they will be easily able to meet their land requirement of 105 acres for the setting up of 21 bus depots across the city. They were told that there is land in each district wherever the depots were planned. Yet, for some reason the DTC chose the floodplains,” said Mr. Jain.
“Even when the bus depot came up near the Commonwealth Games Village on the floodplains, it was mentioned that the depot will be temporary and removed from the site immediately after the Games. And till date despite various agencies protesting against its presence, the depot continues to remain and now we hear that the DTC wants the land used changed so that they can continue to occupy the space.”
As per the records accessed through RTI by Mr. Jain, the DDA offered the DTC a site near Mayur Vihar district centre. “The DDA has over 10,000 acres for the purposes of public use. There is also a letter written by the DDA in 2008 that points out that the Yamuna river front cannot be used for developing an idle bus park as no activity is permitted there by the orders of the L-G,” said Mr. Jain.