The current monopoly enjoyed by the domestic auto giants such as Tata Motors and Ashok leyland in supplying buses under the UPA’s flagship scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is all set to end.
In the wake of complaints pouring from various States about the technical snags and fire incidents in the buses supplied by them, the Union Urban Development Ministry is mulling to invite foreign players also to bid for 10,000 new buses to be provided under the Mission for 2013-14.
The 15,000 buses of various specifications were sanctioned between 2009 and 2012 in over 60 Mission cities. Tata Motors got orders for over 5,000 low-floor buses followed by Ashok leyland (over 4000) and Volvo Buses India Pvt (over 500). Many states have either purchased all the buses or are in the process of doing so.
“But the experience with these vehicles meant to ensure better public transport system has not been very good. Just two years on the roads, many State Transport Utilities are complaining about buses facing frequent breakdown due to wiring defects or catching fire or spare parts are not available. This is causing inconvenience to the commuters. Clearly, quality is missing,” said a senior official from the UD Ministry.
To break the monopoly of the domestic bus manufacturers and ensure competitive environment “ we are in the process of inviting foreign bus manufacturers to bid for supply of the buses under the JNNURM. More players mean better quality. After, all these buses are being procured between Rs 26-Rs 30 lakhs per vehicle,” he said.
He said that a workshop in this regard is proposed on May 6 wherein besides domestic auto makers, foreign bus manufacturers such as Mercedes have also been invited to participate and give their views. He went on to say that embassies of UK, US, China, Singapore, Germany and others have also been requested to send their reputed companies to the workshop.
He said that the workshop to be attended by experts from the transport sector would also deliberate on the reasons for the incidents of fire and breakdown of the buses. The Finance Minister has proposed to allocate Rs 14,873 crore for the JNNURM for urban transportation in 2013-14. He had said that a significant portion of the central fund under the Mission would be used for buying these buses, especially in hill States.
JNNURM which was launched in December 2005, is the single largest government initiative for the planned development of key cities with a focus on providing economic and social infrastructure, basic services to the urban poor, urban sector reforms and strengthening municipal governments and their functioning.