The operation of electric buses in Puducherry is likely to be delayed due to hurdles in fixing the rent for the site identified for the establishment of necessary infrastructure, including charging points.
In July last year, the Puducherry government had placed the order with a private firm for the procurement, operation, and maintenance of 25 electric buses equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including a real-time tracking system.
The government sanctioned ₹23 crore as the initial seed funding under the Smart City project in the first phase for the procurement of the buses, which will ply on 15 tentative routes within urban areas. The buses are to be operated under a viability gap funding model.
As per the contract signed between the Puducherry Transport Department and the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the latter has to set up charging stations and other allied infrastructure with annual fleet-level guaranteed operations of 200 km per day per bus, for a period of 12 years. The operator is to foot the electricity cost and all maintenance costs of the buses.
The Puducherry Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) or Puducherry Urban Transport Agency (PUTA) will be responsible for the fare collection and passenger tax on tickets, while all other permissions and clearances, including registration, insurance, stage carrier permit, Motor Vehicle Tax, and GST on kilometre charges will be borne by the operator.
While the first batch of electric buses is expected to arrive this month, the infrastructure is not yet ready to start seamless operations due to hurdles in fixing the rent.
According to the sources, the transport department had identified a half-acre site within the sprawling premises of the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus depot on Maraimalai Adigal Salai for the establishment of the charging points and other infrastructure.
The site belongs to the Chinna Subburaya Pillai Trust and comprises a committee, including officials among others. The trust is under the control of Puducherry Municipality.
“Though the site has been finalised by the OEM and the proposal also vetted by the government, the exorbitant rent quoted by the Municipality for the site has virtually dampened the chances of establishment of the charging points. This is in strong contrast to the paltry sum collected as rent from the SETC, which operates a major portion of the site,” sources on condition of anonymity said.
The local body has asked for a rent of ₹8.5 lakh per month, which has now become a sore point. The transport department has reportedly asked the local body to reduce the rent to expedite the establishment of the charging points.
When contacted, Puducherry Municipality Commissioner S. Sivakumar said the site was a government patta land.
“We have shown them a few more alternative locations for the establishment of the charging stations. The rental yield accrued from the site at the SETC depot would go to the Trust and the money could be used only for philanthropic activities such as feeding the poor. This is in line with the Trust’s agreement with the government,” Mr. Sivakumar said.
As far as SETC is concerned, the local body has asked them to hand over the unutilised areas in the sprawling depot to the government, he said.
