Keeping its longterm objectives in mind, Shell India Pvt. Ltd has taken up the task of building and maintaining bus shelters in Delhi and Mumbai. Bus stops are no doubt an essential part of the city landscape, but one might argue the reasons for investing in these as part of community development programmes. Particularly so as each of these costs Rs 4.5 lakh to build and the money could have gone to meet more pressing community needs. Indeed, given that in India labour is cheap and the cost of materials is also reasonable, it is surprising that a bus stop should be such an expensive proposition.Should not Shell have considered realistic expenditure and then, perhaps, channelled the extra funds for more pressing needs?

Counters Priti Devi, head, external affairs department, Shell India Pvt. Ltd, ``We are a company concerned with public service as in providing better lubes and oils for vehicles. We are also interested in issues concerning traffic management. It is true that the funds could have gone to other ventures like healthcare and disability management, but then who will look into vital areas like traffic control? That is why, through these shelters, we want to provide better service to commuters and also help the police in managing traffic via trained student volunteers.''

The bus stop has a strong colour scheme to identify with Shell and with the company's logo displayed prominently, the community development scheme conveys more a message of brand-building. With the Supreme Court directive banning hoardings for advertisements, such an investment will help the company to effectively utilisebus stops to inform people about the company.

Queried about the steep costs, Devi points out, ``The existing DTC bus stops are poorly maintained, wear out fast and are not very convenient for the commuters. The material we have used is the best available and will have low maintenance cost.''

Adds Rajat Kumar Mathur of Fountainhead Design Services Pvt. Ltd, which came up with the design for the bus shelters, ``It is basically an aesthetically pleasing and safe bus stand, with no sharp edges. The needs of the disabled have been particularly kept in mind while designing the stand. It is also fitted with electrical connections to illuminate at night, unlike the existing stands. The bus stand is in response to the needs of the people and their convenience and ease of use has been the primary objective.''

Mathur says the bus stop has a false ceiling in metal, which will never come off, even if hit by an unusually strong storm. This is responsible for the extraordinary cost of the stop. The finishing and paintare also guaranteed to last for at least five years.

Nevertheless, the cost per square foot for the 22 x 7 foot structure is high. Says G P Khungar, a real estate consultant, ``Costs depend on the quality of the structure and the materials used. In this case, it works out to Rs 2,900 per square foot, which is very exorbitant by any standards.'' Mathur explains that the cost per stand will come down if the number of stops to be made is large.

Apart from the Shell logo, the bus stand has a Delhi city map and emergency numbers: police, ambulance, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) helpline and the DTC local inquiry. Despite all the frills of a neat structure, the stand lacks any civic message. The phone numbers will be of little help as there are no call booths in the vicinity and an average bus commuter is unlikely to be carrying a cell phone. The company reportedly came with the design after studying bus shelters in India, Singapore and Europe.

In Delhi, Shell plans to build 16 such bus shelters on theSouth Extension-Hyatt Regency stretch. And in Mumbai, eight bus stands will be coming up on the Hornby-Ballard stretch.

The company defends its investment on the grounds of longer life, better service and that the stands will be well lit at night. The light attachments are there, but this correspondent failed to find any illumination while driving past the South Extension stand at night.

Shell has had to work for more than a year to get clearances from the various authorities for this project. These included the Delhi lieutenant governor, the DTC chief, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Public Works Department, the Delhi Vidyut Board, the Urban Arts Commission and, finally, the Delhi Traffic Police.

Shell also supports the Road Safety & Traffic Rules & Regulations Awareness Programme. Under this, Shell India has the Student Traffic Volunteer Scholarship Scheme, which was launched on September 7 this year. The scheme is for students between the ages of 18 and 24 years, who have been trained in roadsafety and traffic management by the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE).

There are 40 student volunteers selected from a field of 280. The volunteers are deployed at specific locations during peak traffic hours in the morning or evening to assist the police in traffic management and are paid a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000. At present, the scheme is only in Delhi. By early next year, the traffic volunteers will be managing busy intersections in Mumbai, too.

Shell also plans to build state-of-the-art police pedestals, the plans for which are currently being finalised. Each of these is likely to cost a minimum of Rs 1.5 lakh.

The world over, Shell has huge investments in community development programmes. In India, it has a budget of Rs 50-60 lakh annually for such initiatives. The steps taken by Shell India Pvt. Ltd are in the right direction, but it needs to explore more realistic cost options for its projects so that it can support other more pressing community needs as well.