With States queuing up to seek more buses under the JNNURM, the Union Urban Development Ministry has sought additional funds worth Rs2,500 crore for 8,000 more public vehicles under the Mission.
This will be in addition to the Rs6,300 crore earmarked for 10,000 buses by the Finance Ministry in the budget 2013-14.
“We are getting demands from many State Governments for the public transport service under the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), in fact even from those who have already been supplied the vehicles from the first tranche sanctioned last year,” a senior official from the UD Ministry said.
A proposal seeking a total fund to the tune of over Rs8,000 crore for purchasing buses has been forwarded to the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for its approval, the official added.
He said that so far 17 States including hilly States such as Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Agartala and Sikkim have been so far sanctioned a total of 9,500 buses out of 10,000 buses announced in the budget 2013-14.
Though the scheme had expired in 2012, it was extended for a year in keeping with the demand from the States seeking better infrastructure and transport services.
Now, if given go ahead to the Ministry’s proposal the fund will increase up to Rs8,500 crore.
It is the Southern States who have taken lead in seeking buses under the central sponsored scheme launched in 2005 with an aim to improve the quality of life and infrastructure in the cities. The first phase of the scheme expired in 2012. A total 14,000 buses were sanctioned during 2009-1012 under the Mission.
Karnataka has topped the list with 2,000 vehicles for as many as 30 cities with Silicon Valley getting over 800 buses for 2013-14.
Karnataka is followed by Maharashtra, Kerala, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.
For the first time, 13 cities in Himachal Pradesh have been sanctioned a total of 800 buses. Mandi, Shimla, Ponta Sahib and Nahan have been provided with the buses.