Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After dismantling Bhopal BRTS, High Court, Jabalpur bench ordered to dismantle Indore Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). Rs 350 crore was spent for construction of 11.8 km long Indore BRTS.
A bench of chief justice Suresh Kumar Kait and justice Vivek Jain ordered the removal of the corridor following the report of an expert committee.
The HC ruling came months after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced in November last year, that the government would scrap BRTS corridor in Indore that was built at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore.
The government had previously scrapped the BRTS corridor built in Bhopal. Challenging the BRTS project, social activist Kishore Kodwani had filed two petitions in Indore bench of the High Court.
In 2013, the Indore bench constituted a 5-member expert committee headed by senior advocate PK Saxena to examine the utility of the BRTS corridor.
The committee had said in its report that no other vehicle should be allowed in the BRTS lane. The Indore High Court constituted a new committee in September last year and issued instructions to submit a report regarding whether the BRTS project of about 11.8 km from Niranjanpur to Rajiv Gandhi statue in the city is practical in the current situation or not. For this, the High Court had provided eight weeks to the committee.
After this, in November 2024 both the petitions were transferred to the main bench in Jabalpur for hearing. During the last hearing, the division bench headed by Chief Justice of the High Court had found that a meeting of the committee was held while the petition was pending in Indore bench. After the transfer of the petition to the main bench, no meeting of the committee has been held.
In its order passed on February 12, it was said that the constituted committee should meet in a week and take a decision. If necessary, meet again on February 23 and submit the report in two days by February 25. The committee report stated that a flyover has been constructed to facilitate traffic.
In present circumstances, there is pressure on traffic due to BRTS corridor, which causes trouble to people.
The government also supported getting the BRTS corridor scrapped. The division bench, while disposing of both petitions, has issued orders to end BRTS corridor, considering it impractical in present circumstances.
