The Central Govt on Friday sanctioned 80 electric buses for Chandigarh under Phase-II of FAME India Scheme. The move is aimed at promoting electric mobility in the city.
An announcement in this regard was made by Prakash Javdekar, Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change on Friday.
Following the development, Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher took to Twitter and thanked the Central Government.
“I would like to thank Government of India and @PrakashJavdekar for giving Chandigarh 80 e-buses. #GreenChandigarhCleanChandigarh (sic),” Kher tweeted.
The Central Government’s announcement is expected to give a major flip to the UT Administration’s proposal to replace the ordinary buses with electric buses in phases.
UT Administration had last year planned to procure 40 electric buses and set up bus charging stations in the city. The Transport Department had also floated tenders to procure electric buses but failed to do so even after three attempts. The plans were then stalled due to COVID-19 pandemic this year.
The cost of each electric bus is estimated between Rs 1.20 cr to Rs 1.50 crore.