OFF TO A ROCKY START: Buses monopolising the middle of the road in New Delhi while other vehicles are stuck in a congested lane to the side. -- PHOTO: AFP

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, who has come under fire, said plans for more such bus lanes - straight down the middle of main roads - were being shelved for the time being.

'My government will not go in for the expansion of the project, which envisages five more corridors, until we make this corridor perfect,' said Ms Dixit, who faces tough city elections later this year.

Commercial vehicles are banned during the day from the strips. So are the private Blueline buses, notorious for reckless driving.

Ms Dixit came under criticism from her ruling Congress Party after Delhi Assembly Speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh questioned the 1.2 billion rupee (S$41 million) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme.

'Since its inception a few days back, the BRT has malfunctioned, caused and created woes for the common masses,' he said in a letter to the national government.

'These difficulties have not only ruined the traffic, but are also causing havoc for the people living in adjoining areas.'

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights also criticised the government.

'Suitable measures must be taken to ensure that children do not become victims of accidents,' said commission member Sandhya Bajaj.

Bus passengers making their way through congested roads to reach the central lanes have been involved in accidents.

'People have to navigate through cars moving bumper to bumper to access buses, and that's what is causing these accidents,' said traffic police inspector Rajinder Tomar.

Environmentalists and residents' associations are up in arms because thousands of mature trees have been felled to make way for the lanes.

'We want to know who are the people foisting half-baked ideas on citizens,' said Mr J. S. Chadda, coordinator of the residents' anti-BRT movement.

Delhi-based Geetam Tiwari, who spearheaded the scheme, defended the plan.

'Since we have been working on the project for the last 15 years, since its conceptualisation, every detail has been taken care of,' she told a seminar last week.

'There is confusion among the people about this new traffic system as people are yet to be made aware of it.'

The project, which was supposed to facilitate free-flowing traffic, was seen as vital for Delhi's plans to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Its problems contrast with the success of the city's gleaming metro system, which has won lavish praise. Launched in 2002, it now smoothly handles hundreds of thousands of passengers daily.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE