The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi now hopeful of sorting out issues with UP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 14, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Delhi now hopeful of sorting out issues with UP

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Of prime importance are water supply, movement of buses and extension of the Delhi Metro corridor

NEW DELHI: The change of guard in Uttar Pradesh has given a glimmer of hope to politicians in Delhi that the lingering problems pertaining to supply of water for the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant, inter-State movement of buses and extension of the Delhi Metro corridor up to Vasundhara in Ghaziabad may now be resolved soon.

More than being actually problems between Delhi and U.P., these had become `battles' between the Congress regime in Delhi and the Samajwadi Party in U.P. As a result people on both sides of the border were suffering. But given the relationship between the Congress -- that only till the other day was offering a hand of support to Mayawati should her party have fallen short of a complete majority -- and the Bahujan Samaj Party, it now appears that a solution to these vexed problems may indeed be in sight.

Of prime importance to Delhi is the issue of raw water supply for the 140 MGD Sonia Vihar plant that became operation last year. Since as of now only about 60 MGD are being supplied, an acute water crisis is staring lakhs of people in the face in East and South Delhi. However, officials are now hoping that U.P. would release more water for Delhi during the peak summer months.

The transport sector stand off may now also come to an end. This would be great help to lakhs of people who commute between the two States. Due to the bus row that started between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh last November, at present State transport buses do not ply between the two States.

Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf said he was hopeful that the crisis would now be resolved soon. "It was primarily some Ministers in the previous U.P. Government who were stalling the talks. Now we would take up the matter with the new U.P. Government at the earliest and I am confident that very soon people on both sides would be able to travel across in ease and comfort," he said.

Incidentally, while over the last six months several meetings have been held between the transport officials of the two States, they had remained inconclusive. The relationship between the two States had touched a new low last November 18 when without any notice, the U.P. authorities impounded 105 Delhi Transport Corporation buses including a large number of school buses hours after U.P. Transport Minister Naresh Agrawal returned to Lucknow following his visit to Delhi during which Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had denied him an audience.

This happened soon after U.P. launched a new bus service -- with 150 ordinary and 75 air-conditioned CNG buses -- to the Capital without even taking Delhi's consent. The two States had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 1985 for 15 years that was later extended for another two years. Thereafter an agreement was reached between them in 2004 under which the DTC was allowed to run buses over 90,000 km in U.P. and the latter was allowed to operate its fleet 30,000 km in Delhi. Though this pact was not notified by Delhi, U.P. insisted that it had launched the new CNG bus service from Noida to Delhi under this agreement.

Another key issue that may now get resolved is the extension of Delhi Metro from Anand Vihar ISBT up to Vasundhara in Ghaziabad. While work on this two kilometre section was to start last year, it got held-up as the Ghaziabad Development Authority was not allowed to release the money required for the project. Now, the construction of this line and its further extension is expected to be discussed afresh.

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