Transport hubs in Delhi could host budget hotels, shelters

NEW DELHI: The transport hubs in the city could take on a much wider role than simply moving passengers under the proposed Master Plan for Delhi-2047.

Key points

• Two extra ISBT sites, at Dwarka and Narela, have been identified but are not operational at present.
• As of now, none of the ISBTs have hostels or service apartments or budget hotels, etc.
• The plan notes such development should be undertaken in a composite manner.
• A similar provision applies to inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs).
• The provision is even broader for bus depots.

For rail terminals and metropolitan passenger terminals, the list of permitted activities includes railway operations; passenger and goods facilities; offices; retail and public/semi-public facilities, besides hotels and budget hotels; shelters for urban homeless; passenger/staff accommodation; service apartments; and hostels. The plan notes such development should be undertaken in a composite manner.

In practice, a similar provision applies to inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs). Delhi at present has three operational ISBTs, including Maharana Pratap ISBT at Kashmere Gate, Swami Vivekanand ISBT at Anand Vihar and Veer Hakikat Rai ISBT at Sarai Kale Khan, according to the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation.

Two extra ISBT sites, at Dwarka and Narela, have been identified but are not operational at present. At ISBTs, the proposed permissible mix includes bus operations and parking, offices, retail, budget hotels, shelters for urban homeless, passenger/staff accommodation, service apartments and hostels. This means sizeable transport interchanges could potentially become mixed-use complexes where mobility, commercial and social-support functions coexist.

In practice, the provision is even broader for bus depots. Along with bus operations, maintenance, parking and passenger facilities, the draft permits hotels/budget hotels, shelters for urban homeless, retail, offices, service apartments and hostels. As far as feasible, bus depots should function as bus terminals, it additionally states that.

In practice, the scale is significant. While a recent DTC tender document described 34 depots in Delhi and one in Noida, indicating that the network and classification of facilities have been evolving, the Delhi Transport Corporation's current locator lists 37 depots.

In practice, the idea is not entirely new. The existing framework as per the DDA website has already contemplated night shelters within railway and bus terminals, including integrated complexes combining commercial space with shelters, but so far, no such plan has been executed.

Taken together, the developments around transport hubs in Delhi could host budget hotels, shelters point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.