Centre approves 240 E-Buses for Chhattisgarh on initiative of CM Sai

Raipur (Team Newsbuddy): On the initiative of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, the Government of India has approved 240 e-buses for public transportation in Chhattisgarh under the PM E-Bus Service Scheme.

These E-buses will be operated in the capital city Raipur, Bilaspur, Korba, and Durg-Bhilai. The PM E-Bus Service Scheme has been launched by the central government to improve the public transportation infrastructure in urban areas.

Central government approved these 240 e-buses after approving the proposal sent by the State Government’s Urban Administration and Development Department. The number of buses allotted for each city includes 100 e-buses for Raipur, 50 each for Bilaspur, Korba, and Durg-Bhilai, and 40 e-buses for Korba.

Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Administration and Development Minister Arun Sao said that financial assistance will be provided by centre for purchase and operations of buses in Chhattisgarh.

A significant portion of the funds will also be used for developing infrastructure such as bus depots in the cities. Under the scheme, three types of buses – standard, medium, and mini – will be operated. The number of buses has been determined based on the population of cities in various states. Sao mentioned that the commencement of e-bus services will lead to improved air quality and environmental preservation in Chhattisgarh’s cities due to reduced carbon emissions. The services will also offer citizens comfortable travel with lower energy consumption and better fuel efficiency.

Deputy Chief Minister Sao explained that the PM E-Bus Service Scheme is part of an effort to link central assistance with transparency and performance in states. The scheme will be developed as an alternative or in conjunction with metro systems in cities to provide affordable, reliable, and convenient transportation.

According to the scheme, based on population the targeted cities are categorized into four categories. The cities with populations between 20 lakh to 40 lakh are eligible for 150 buses, cities with populations between 10 lakh to 20 lakh and five lakh to 10 lakh are eligible for 100 buses each and cities with populations below five lakh million are eligible for 50 e-buses. Based on this, Raipur has been approved for 100 medium e-buses, Durg-Bhilai for 50 medium e-buses, Bilaspur for 35 medium and 15 mini e-buses and Korba for 20 medium and 20 mini e-buses.

According to the guidelines of the PM E-Bus Service Scheme, selection of the agency for purchase and operation of buses will be done by central government. The central assistance will be provided based on the number of kilometers operated by the buses. If the buses operate fewer kilometers, the central assistance will be reduced proportionately. Funding will be provided based on the performance of cities. Under the PM E-Bus Service Scheme, a report on bus operations will need to be submitted every three months. To ensure complete transparency in the project and also in issuance of funds from centre the scheme requires a third-party audit