MTC quietly scraps Gummidipoondi bus depot plan despite fund allocation
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MTC says, "low frequency of bus operations," despite a daily ridership of nearly 20,000 commuters from the industrial and farming belt.
The decision has sparked crictisms as the nearest MTC depots are located at Padiyanallur and Ponneri, both more than 20 km away. Residents of Gummidipoondi and its surrounding hamlets dependent on erratic services, forcing them to rely on expensive share autos and multiple indirect buses to reach Chennai and nearby towns like Tiruvallur.
The project was first announced in 2013 under Rule 110 in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Land measuring 4.7 acres in Pethikuppam village, along NH-16, was identified. After years of delay over valuation disputes — during which land cost estimates rose from 2.75 crore to 4.09 crore and were later revised to 2.04 crore after a court directive — a govt order in 2021 sanctioned funds to acquire the land.
Despite this, MTC dropped the plan in April this year, even as the DMK reiterated its commitment in the 2021 election manifesto and the state transport minister stated in May that construction would begin soon.
The sudden withdrawal has left local residents and welfare associations disillusioned.
"It's hard to understand why a project tracked for over 10 years was dropped just months after the government itself claimed it was about to start," said S Suresh Babu, president of the Billakuppam Welfare Association.
The existing bus stand, constructed on a water-retention zone, floods frequently. To address this, the local body has proposed a new town bus stand on 1.7 acres — next to the same site originally identified for the MTC depot. "We urgently need to move the facility to a more viable location," said town panchayat executive officer M Baskaran.
While DMK MLA T J Govindarajan said the depot plan is still alive, MTC managing director Prabhushankar T said there will be no depot as there is no demand for it.
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