It has been nearly a month since the common reciprocal agreement on unrestricted plying of buses in national capital region cities of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan was signed. The state of Uttar Pradesh, which was supposed to sign up, is yet to do so raising apprehension that it would further delay the implementation of the scheme.
According to urban development ministry sources, the UP officials have not yet signed the agreement though they have been giving assurances that it will be done soon. Sources added that they seemed to be having some reservations over the deeper reach of buses plying from Delhi to NCR cities in UP, which will not be the case with the UP buses coming to Delhi.
A high-ranking ministry official, however, said that there were issues about the number of points where the buses from Delhi to UP would be allowed to stop and pick up passengers from, and vice versa, but it had been sorted out after prolonged negotiations. But UP officials have been giving one or the other “administrative” reasons for not being able to reach Delhi and sign up the agreement. Even on the day the agreement was signed between Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana, the state of UP was not present as its officials could not make it to the city on account of sudden change at the top levels of bureaucracy.
According to the official, the signing of the deal was crucial for quick implementation of the long pending proposal. “After the signing of the agreement, at least one month is required for things like counter signing of permits and working out other modalities,” said the official.