New Delhi: At a time when the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the city government are struggling to provide feeder buses for the Metro network, a Parliamentary panel has asked the Urban Development Ministry to ensure that 300 such vehicles ply within six months.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development, while discussing the ministry`s Demand for Grants for 2012-13, had inquired from senior officials about the provision of feeder buses.
In its report, the committee, headed by JD-U leader Sharad Yadav, noted that Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna, had, during oral evidence deposed that "the entire feeder service load cannot be loaded" on the Delhi Metro Corporation. Krishna told the Committee that to run feeder bus services, cooperation of the Delhi government and Delhi Transport Corporation was needed.
"DMRC is committing that 300 buses will ply on roads for the next six months. It will, however, effectively become as a city bus service. Therefore, this has to be handled by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). DMRC will also chip in," Krishna told the Standing Committee.
After considering the ministry`s replies, the Committee said it desires that the "(Union) government achieve proper coordination with the Delhi government and DTC to run the feeder bus service efficiently and make 300 feeder buses functional within the next six months". The Committee`s standing report added that the feeder buses should be made functional in the next six months as per the commitment made by the government.

The Standing Committee also asked the Urban Development Ministry about reports of glitches in the Delhi Metro.
The ministry told the Parliamentary panel that there were 2,800 daily trips on the network and the system failed occasionally.
It also told the panel that whenever there was a signal problem, manual methods were employed by DMRC.
DMRC was trying its best to reduce glitches and such situations can be tackled in the future, the ministry said.
The Committee in its report also said that according to DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh, the issue of increasing metro coaches from six to eight will now be considered before 2013.
The next lot of coaches is expected to come from June following which Delhi Metro will be be having eight coaches, Singh told the Committee.
PTI