The Indian Express               18.12.2013

City to get 400 more buses under JNNURM

The Union Ministry of Urban Development has sanctioned 400 more buses for Chandigarh under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The approval was given at a meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) on bus funding and ancillary infrastructure projects under JNNURM in New Delhi last Friday.

An approval was also given for installation of ITS (Intelligent Transport System) and a depot. The in-principle approval has been given subject to fulfilling of certain conditions like formation of an SPV (special purpose vehicle). The UT Administration has given an undertaking that it will bear the operational losses, if any, and revise the fares which was last done in 2010. Dr Sudhir Krishna, Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development, assured that the ministry will finance the scheme of public biking, which Chandigarh plans to implement, to promote clean transport in the country.

The CSMC approved that out of the 685 more buses, 400 will be for Chandigarh, 240 buses will be for greater Meghalya along with the request for ITS and bus depots, and 45 for West Bengal.