Telangana Government has issued guidelines for the implementation of Maha Lakshmi scheme, the first of the six guarantees, aimed at providing free travel for women in the TSRTC buses in the State.
The guidelines come in less than 24 hours of the decision taken by the State Cabinet regarding the implementation of the six guarantees it had given in the run up to the Telangana Assembly Elections-2023. Accordingly, the scheme will be made applicable to girls and women and transgender persons who are domicile of Telangana.
These sections can travel free of cost anywhere within the borders of the State in Palle Velugu and Express buses with effect from Saturday, coinciding with senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s birthday. As for travel in inter-State buses, free travel facility would be applicable up to the borders of the State.
The Government would reimburse to TSRTC the expenditure towards chargeable fares which would have been collected on the basis of actual distance travelled by women passengers. Transport and R&B department principal secretary A. Vani Prasad said in the orders issued on Friday that the TSRTC vice-chairman and managing director would take further necessary action in the matter and issue detailed guidelines for the implementation of the scheme. The corporation had also been asked to make arrangements to develop a software based Maha Lakshmi smart card in the due course.
