The State government could get fewer buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission as it had second thoughts about the vehicles. “We may get only a few buses as a symbolic gesture,” Karnataka Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake told presspersons on Friday.
He said that low-floor buses cost Rs. 43 lakh compared to similar buses from another company that cost Rs. 24 lakh.
Mangaluru and Udupi were expected to get more than 60 buses under the scheme. When asked whether this would materialise, the Minister said, “We will get a few as a symbolic gesture.”
The low-floor buses are meant for an urban environment only, he said. The Minister asked people to pay higher taxes if they want development and refused to give a direct answer to a question on the lack of clarity on taxation issue in the Mangaluru City Corporation.
He reiterated the same when presspersons pointed out the Congress leaders were confusing them and when asked whether the party was committed to its pre-poll assurance that the party would not increase taxes for five years if elected.
Under the scheme, Mangaluru and Udupi are expected to get more than 60 buses
