Residents in Mohali have a reason to cheer as the municipal corporation (MC) is all set to start a local bus service within the MC limits. It was proposed around a decade ago.
The agenda pertaining to the local bus service will be tabled in the house meeting scheduled on November 2 for final approval and its service will begin from January 1.
Initially, there will be around seven buses, which will run in areas under the MC limits.
City mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu said, “We had a meeting on Friday and finalised terms and conditions. We will be placing the agenda before the MC house on November 2. The buses will be run by a private company against the advertisements rights.”
He said once it was approved in the house, it would be sent to the local bodies department for approval. “We will soon be finalising routes for buses,” he said.
Deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi said it would be a Diwali gift to the residents of Mohali. At present, the residents were relying on the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) that only covered select routes. Besides, over the last decade, the town had substantially swelled with several new sectors coming up.
In 2016, the MC had passed a resolution for the same. However, the local bodies department did not give approval. At that time, the corporation planned to run 50 buses on the routes in question in the first phase. The MC had allocated a budget of ₹2 crore.
{{/usCountry}}In 2016, the MC had passed a resolution for the same. However, the local bodies department did not give approval. At that time, the corporation planned to run 50 buses on the routes in question in the first phase. The MC had allocated a budget of ₹2 crore.
{{/usCountry}}Before the Punjab assembly elections, former cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu had announced that the town would soon have its own bus service.
A decade ago, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) had also finalised routes for the bus service, but later the project was scrapped.