- E-buses will run in Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg and Korba
- Principal Secretary of the Urban Administration Department, Shri Sonmani Bora, and Director of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Bhadauria, reviewed the preparations
- Instructions were given to develop route plans according to the needs of the cities, depot-charging infrastructure and a technology-based monitoring system
Principal Secretary of the Urban Administration and Development Department, Shri Sonmani Bora, today held a meeting with Director of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Bhadoria, along with officials of Urban Administration and SUDA, to review preparations for the effective implementation of the Prime Minister e-Bus Service Scheme. The meeting included detailed discussions on various aspects related to the operation and expansion of the e-Bus service, route planning, bus stops, depots, charging infrastructure, and the command and control system. It is noteworthy that under the Government of India’s Prime Minister e-Bus Service Scheme, approval has been received for a total of 240 electric buses in four municipal corporations of Chhattisgarh—Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg and Korba. Their operation will provide citizens in these four cities with better connectivity along with clean and modern public transport.
While reviewing preparations for the operation of the Prime Minister e-Bus Service, Principal Secretary of the Urban Administration and Development Department, Shri Sonmani Bora, and Director of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Bhadoria, said that e-Bus routes should be determined keeping in mind the actual transportation needs of the cities and the convenience of citizens. They called for special attention to preparing routes connecting schools, colleges, hospitals, major markets, important institutions and other public-use locations to the e-Bus network, so that better public transport connectivity can be developed between different parts of the city.
They directed that short-term and long-term route plans be prepared for e-Buses and that routes be studied in a phased manner. They called for a phase-wise study of the proposed routes and assessment of their feasibility based on passenger numbers, potential demand, distance and connectivity. Emphasis was placed on developing routes according to demand in areas with high passenger movement and finalizing routes on the basis of detailed studies.
Principal Secretary Shri Bora highlighted the need to make information related to the e-Bus service clear and easily accessible to citizens. He said that citizens should be able to easily obtain information on how many e-Buses are operating, which routes they are running on, and what the stops are on each route. He directed that route charts and related details be systematically prepared and shared for this purpose.
Principal Secretary Shri Bora said in the meeting that all components of the scheme—route planning, bus operations, depots, charging infrastructure, bus stops and the command and control system—need to be developed in an integrated manner. He directed that city-wise requirements and available resources for operating e-Buses in all four cities be assessed and priorities determined accordingly. He also called for regular reporting and monitoring of the progress of the scheme. Preparations for starting a special bus service for women were also discussed in the meeting. Along with this, consideration was given to preparing necessary routes and an operating system keeping women’s convenience in mind.
Shri Bora directed that quality and feasibility, along with timelines, should also be taken into account in the operation of e-Buses. He called for identifying potential obstacles related to land, depots, charging, routes and operations, resolving them within the stipulated time, and regularly monitoring progress in accordance with the निर्धारित targets. Keeping in view the high level of monitoring of the scheme, he emphasized moving forward with all necessary work in coordination. He directed that while constructing and developing depots, adequate capacity and necessary facilities should be arranged keeping in mind the possibility of an increase in the number of e-Buses in the future. He also called for assessing the requirement and availability of charging infrastructure and ensuring the necessary arrangements on time.
Director of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Bhadoria, emphasized moving forward in a time-bound manner on site selection and land-related matters for depots, charging stations and other necessary facilities. He also directed that necessary approvals and technical processes for depots, civil works and other construction works be completed on time through coordination with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Railways, and other departments, so that all necessary basic infrastructure is ready before e-Bus operations begin.
Shri Bhadoria also emphasized the effective use of modern technology and digital systems in e-Bus operations. He directed that the command and control system be strengthened and a technology-based system be developed for effective monitoring of bus operations, so that the operation of buses, routes, passenger numbers and other important information can be monitored in real time.
Various aspects related to human resources and the operating model for e-Bus operations were also discussed in the meeting. Shri Bora and Shri Bhadoria directed better coordination of technology, human resources and available resources in the operation of the scheme. Director of the Urban Administration and Development Department, Shri Nilesh Mahadev Kshirsagar, CEO of SUDA, Shri Sumeet Agrawal, Managing Director of CSPDCL (CSPDCL), Shri Bhim Singh Kanwar, Commissioner of Raipur Municipal Corporation, Shri Sambit Mishra, Commissioner of Korba Municipal Corporation, Shri Ashutosh Pandey, Commissioner of Bilaspur Municipal Corporation, Shri Prakash Kumar Sarvey, Deputy General Manager of NHAI (NHAI), Shri Nitin Kumar Gupta, and ASO of the Ministry of Urban Affairs, Delhi, Shri Himanshu Jain, were also present at the meeting.