Road Transport Ministry seeks funds for public transportation

23 January 2012: The Union Ministry of Road Transport has sought help to procure almost 86,000 buses over the next five years.

If this proposal gets a final nod of Finance Ministry and Planning Commission, business worth about Rs 15,000 crore for bus manufacturers such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland would be generated during the five year period. The Ministry's working group for the next five year plan has proposed to part-finance procurement of almost 51,000 buses to serve rural areas that are not connected by State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs). It also proposes to help fund procurement of another 35,000 buses to replace the over-aged fleet of SRTUs that operate in rural areas. Out of some 5.93 lakh inhabited villages in India, only about a third (1.83 lakh) are connected by organised SRTUs. All SRTUs together own 1.47 lakh buses (March 2011), says the Ministry. Some 81 per cent of these buses are engaged in rural and inter-city operations. The proposal is modelled on the JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) plan of Urban Development Ministry.

Source: Hindu Business Line