Delhi government proposes to make metro and bus travel free for women

Arvind Kejriwal. Pic/AFP

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government proposes to make metro and bus travel free for women in the city within 2-3 months. The move comes ahead of the assembly elections scheduled early next year.

In a press conference Kejriwal, "Women will be given free rides in DTC, cluster buses and the Delhi Metro. The government will bear their travel expenses."For the remaining part of this financial year, the cost of this comes to Rs 700-800 crore, he said.

Kejriwal said he has asked officials to study the proposal. The government has also sought feedback from the public. Officers have been given a week to prepare a detailed report after which a proposal will be brought in the cabinet, he said. The step will not lead to congestion in the Delhi Metro, as the daily ridership will increase by just one lakh. Currently, 25 lakh people travel by metro daily, he said. He also said that his government accords top priority to women safety and has passed a tender to install 1.50 lakh CCTV cameras across the city.

"A survey for 70,000 CCTVs has been completed and these will be installed by December. A proposal for another 1.40 lakh cameras in under consideration," he said.

As many as 1.50 lakh CCTV cameras will be installed in government-run schools by November, Kejriwal added. At a public meeting on Saturday, the chief minister had said his government was considering to make metro and bus travel free for women in Delhi "to encourage them to use public transport". Kejriwal had also said his government is in touch with the city's power regulator to bring down fixed charge component of the electricity bill.

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