New Delhi: A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), presented in the Delhi Assembly, has exposed significant financial and operational mismanagement in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) during the AAP government’s tenure from 2015-16 to 2021-22. The Assembly’s Committee on Government Undertakings has been tasked with reviewing the findings and submitting a report within three months.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta strongly criticised the previous administration, holding them responsible for DTC’s financial decline. She stated, “DTC was ruined due to mismanagement. If buses do not operate on all routes, how will DTC generate revenue? Due to improper scheduling, there has been a loss of ₹668 crore.”
She also raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS). A private bank, which held a 50 percent stake in DIMTS, initially sought to sell its shares for ₹95 crore, but the Delhi government delayed the purchase. Eventually, the stake was sold to a private company for just ₹10 crore. Questioning the deal, Gupta remarked, “Why was a ₹95-crore stake sold for just ₹10 crore? This is what they have done to DTC. I request that this matter be investigated.”
Speaker Vijender Gupta outlined key findings of the CAG report, revealing that DTC had failed to draft a Business Plan or Perspective Plan. Despite a Delhi High Court directive mandating at least 11,000 buses in the fleet, the number of operational buses dropped from 4,344 to 3,937. “DTC suffered a massive loss of ₹14,198 crore between 2015 and 2022 due to mismanagement,” he stated.
He further noted that DTC failed to penalise suppliers for delays in delivering electric buses, losing ₹29.86 crore. By March 2023, 44.96 percent of low-floor buses had exceeded their designated lifespan. A ₹52-crore CCTV installation project in 3,697 buses remained non-functional due to the absence of a User Acceptance Test (UAT). The report also pointed out that DTC operated on only 57 percent of its designated
routes, making cost recovery impossible. Additional losses were incurred due to delays in awarding advertising contracts, while no financial recovery plan was in place.
Transport minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh emphasised that the previous government’s mismanagement had placed an enormous financial burden on taxpayers. “The CAG report clearly demonstrates that the previous government misused taxpayers’ money. They came with promises of reform but ended up indulging in corruption themselves,” he said. Criticising the opposition further, he added, “We are working on the ground while the previous government restricted their work to social media.” Singh revealed that DTC’s total deficit had increased from ₹25,300 crore in 2015-16 to ₹60,750 crore in 2021-22, with the interest burden rising from ₹3,277 crore to ₹8,375 crore. Chief Minister Gupta assured that her government would revitalise public transport. “Our government will revitalise and revive DTC. Inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs) will be modernised with advanced technology,” she stated. Addressing concerns over corruption in the free bus ride scheme for women, she added, “We will provide cards to ensure accountability and probity. There was no system to ascertain the number of actual beneficiaries under the previous government.”