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Haryana sets deadline to phase out old buses operating in Delhi-NCR
Chief secretary assures Centre that under air quality improvement plan, 375 e-buses will be bought for nine municipal corporation cities by June 2024
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The Haryana government on Wednesday told the Centre that the Haryana roadways will acquire green-compliant CNG, electric and BS VI diesel buses under the 2024-25 action plan, in a bid to curtail the annual air pollution crisis that engulfs Delhi and the national capital region (NCR), officials said.
Haryana chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal unveiled the state’s action plan during a virtual meeting convened by the Union cabinet secretary on air quality management in Delhi and NCR, an official spokesperson said.
However, a Delhi government official, asking not to be named, said: “Delhi was also part of the same meeting but was not asked for any such plan”.
Haryana’s plan includes stringent timelines and action items for the replacement of BS III/IV diesel buses. At present, about 1,030 BS III-compliant diesel buses are operational in Haryana and around 500 such buses are serving in NCR depots. Kaushal said that all 500 BS III buses will be phased out from NCR depots by October 2024.
The state transport department has finalised the procurement of 375 e-buses under the gross cost contract model for operation in nine municipal corporation cities of Haryana. The chief secretary said that all 375 e-buses would be inducted by June 2024, adding that 200 additional e-buses (100 each for Gurugram and Faridabad) are being bought through the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA).
The induction of 200 e-buses is expected to be completed by December 2024.
Kaushal also said that Haryana plans to add 500 new standard BS VI diesel buses and 150 HVAC BS VI diesel buses meeting the latest BS VI emission norms during 2024-25. All these proposed new buses will be inducted into the bus fleet by November 2024, he added.
The chief secretary said that all depots of Haryana will operate only BS VI-compliant buses going to Delhi and that all BS III-compliant buses will be phased out from NCR depots before October 2024.
He said that all state-owned BS-IV-compliant buses operating in Faridabad, Gurugram, and Sonepat, will be transferred to non-NCR depots by October 2024 and replaced with BS VI-compliant diesel buses.
The chief secretary also said the Automotive Research Association in Pune has been entrusted with investigating pollution levels and carbon emissions in select Haryana cities, including Gurugram, Panipat, and Sonepat. “Plans for five additional districts, namely Rewari, Jhajjar, Jind, Rohtak, and Charkhi Dadri, are already underway, for which tenders have been issued,” he said.
Kaushal informed that 18 dust control and management cells (18 numbers) have been constituted, besides 534 anti-smog guns have been installed at the construction sites in NCR for dust suppression.
He said the Automotive Research Association in Pune has been entrusted with investigating pollution levels and carbon emissions in selected Haryana cities, including Gurugram, Panipat, and Sonepat. Plans for five additional districts, namely Rewari, Jhajjar, Jind, Rohtak, and Charkhi Dadri, are already underway, for which tenders have been issued, he said.
