Govt. gives nod for procurement of 1,650 low-floor buses

Conversion of Rajghat Coal Plant into a 5,000-KW solar park also approved

The Delhi Cabinet has given its nod for the procurement of 1,650 low-floor buses by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) Ltd., said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday.

‘Electric buses in August’

The government is now moving ahead with the procurement of 4,000 buses that will arrive by mid-2020 with a tender for 1,000 electric buses scheduled to open in August and their arrival expected to begin from January next year, he said, adding that the entire batch of new buses is expected to be on the roads by April next year.

The meeting, which was chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also approved awarding concessions to successful bidders for 650 low-floor buses under the Cluster scheme run by DIMTS, he said. Currently, there are around 5,500 public transport buses that include 3,900 being operated by the DTC and over 1,600 under the Cluster scheme by the DIMTS.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to the proposal to officially close down the Rajghat Coal Plant, which is non-functional since 2015 and will now be converted into a 5,000 KW solar park.

“The government has been preparing for the procurement of new buses for the past two years. No new buses could be procured by the DTC in the last 9-10 years. Besides 1,000 low-floor DTC buses, the process for procurement of another 3,000 buses, which will arrive by May-June 2020, is also under way,” Mr. Sisodia said.

“The Cabinet decisions taken today are a major boost for public transport. With the decisions taken today and those taken earlier and in the pipeline, Delhi will have 9,500 buses plying on the roads by May 2020,” Mr. Sisodia added.

The 1,000 air-conditioned low-floor buses to be procured by DTC will start rolling out from January 2020 and the entire fleet will be on the roads of the city by May that year, he said.

In addition, he said, 1,000 standard floor buses under Cluster scheme will start arriving from this month and by December, the entire fleet will be rolled out, he added.

According to Mr. Sisodia, the process for procurement of 1,000 low-floor buses under the Cluster scheme is also on. The fleet of 650 buses whose tender was cleared by the Cabinet, will start rolling out from December and the entire fleet will arrive by April 2020; the tender for the remaining 350 buses low floor buses under cluster scheme will be opened this month.