E-Paper
Ludhiana MC fails to explore viability of reusing 37 defunct buses
Even as committees have been formed by the Ludhiana MC to conduct a viability survey of the buses to find out whether these can be put to use again or not, no concrete steps have been taken at ground level.
The municipal corporation (MC) authorities have failed to find a solution for 37 city buses worth ₹17 crore that have been lying in a dilapidated condition in the depot on the Tajpur road for the last over eight years.
Even as committees have been formed over the years to conduct a viability survey of the buses to find out whether these can be put to use again or not, no concrete steps have been taken at ground level.
The matter was also discussed during the meeting of the Board of Directors of Ludhiana City Bus Service Limited held in Zone D of the MC on Tuesday. Officials from the administration and the police department also participated in the meeting.
Pardeep Sabharwal , MC commissioner, said a committee was formed to conduct a viability survey a few months ago and the secretary, RTA, was also a part of the committee. The committee members have sought 10 more days for completing the survey. The required recommendations will be made to the higher authorities in the local bodies department as per the report of the survey. If these buses can be used in some way, it will also generate employment opportunities.
The buses have been dumped at the site for over eight years now and are lying in a dilapidated condition with many of the parts being stolen in the past. MC officials requesting anonymity said even then the MC would not be able to run the buses on city roads as these are big in size and cannot be run on narrow internal roads of the city which are marred by traffic jams.
The authorities have also failed to run the facility at its full capacity.
The project was started in February 2011 with the target of introducing 200 buses under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), but the authorities have not been able to properly run 120 buses, which were purchased. Out of the 120 buses, only 83 were transferred to the company and 37 are gathering dust at the depot. Out of the 83 buses in possession of the contractor, only few are being run on city roads.
