The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said only the lieutenant governor has the power to formulate a policy for permanently reinstating the bus marshals as it is a matter of services and law and order.

The AAP's statement came hours after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena approved the redeployment of Civil Defence Volunteers (CDVs) for four months from November 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025 to tackle the ongoing air pollution crisis in the national capital.

Saxena also urged the Delhi government to formulate a dedicated scheme for bus marshals and to take immediate steps towards creating official posts and ensuring budgetary provisions, aiming to resolve the issue with a long-term structured plan. "Since the creation of a scheme for bus marshals is a services as well as law and order matter, the LG is requested to make a scheme for the civil volunteers," an official statement of the AAP said.

Senior bureaucrats of the Delhi Transport Department have given in writing to the government that only the LG is empowered to make a policy for the marshals, it added. The AAP further stated the Delhi government has committed to providing all budgetary support for the civil defence volunteers.

The Delhi government passed a proposal last week to reinstate the CDVs removed as bus marshals in October 2023 for the next four months on duties involving enforcement of various anti-pollution measures and the council of ministers handed over a report to Chief Minister Atishi recommending immediate reinstatement of 10,000 bus marshals.

The proposal was sent to the LG for reinstatement of civil volunteers as bus marshals. The removal of over 10,000 civil defence volunteers, who had previously been deployed as bus marshals, was initiated following objections from the Directorate of Civil Defence.

The Directorate argued that these volunteers were initially intended for disaster management roles and not for public transport security.

The lieutenant governor had last year approved the proposal to terminate the deployment of CDVs as bus marshals and recommended that the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal consider utilising these volunteers in the over 10,000 sanctioned posts of home guards, highlighting the need for a better-aligned use of their skills and services.

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