Hardeep Singh Puri calls city 'unlivable', blames public transport system

The national Capital is almost "unlivable", Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said while talking about the shortage of state-run buses in the city on Thursday. In a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government, he said not having enough public buses was a "criminal negligence" and people buying cars could not be blamed for the congestion in the city as it lacked a robust public transport system.

He also said that the state government has been delaying the start of work on the crucial phase-IV of the Delhi Metro.

"The city is short of 7,000 buses. It is a criminal negligence. Even the work on Metro phase -IV has been stuck and a decision on it is pending for three years. We have RRTS corridors pending for two years..," Puri said at the sidelines of an event.

Puri further said that all stakeholders should act swiftly to make the city "livable" again. The minister also talked about the possible solutions for the ongoing sealing drive in the city. The city has witnessed widespread protests against the sealing of commercial establishment on the grounds of "misuse."

"Contours of the solution to the problem of the ongoing sealing drive was almost ready. I will urge traders for little more patience and expect relief soon," he said.

The minister further said that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has looked into the 700-800 suggestions it had received from various stakeholders on the proposed amendments in the Delhi Master Plan 2021. The DDA had proposed amendments to the plan in order to give relief to traders from sealing.

"Work is more or less complete and I can assure you that we have contours of the solution to the problems of the Delhi Master Plan almost ready. The DDA had proposed to amend the master plan by providing uniform Floor Area Ratio for shop-cum-residence plots or complexes on a par with residential plots as given to properties on the mixed-use street," the minister added.