Two years on, Gurugram’s wait for e-buses just got longer

According to officials in the know, the process initially got delayed because of procedural issues and then the lockdown imposed due to the nationwide Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020

Even after a delay of two years, Gurugram will have to wait longer before electric buses start plying on the city roads. In 2019, the Haryana government had announced that 50 electric buses will be added to the fleet at Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) by the end of that year, but the buses have still not been procured.

Officials said that the number of buses to be given to Gurugram and by when they will be given had not been decided yet. (Representational image/HT Archive)

According to officials in the know, the process initially got delayed because of procedural issues and then the lockdown imposed due to the nationwide Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020. “The government announced two years ago that 50 electric buses will be added to the fleet and arrangements were made accordingly. A parking space was created at the Sector 10 bus depot and charging stations were installed. It was first decided that the authority would purchase the buses, but now, in accordance with the state’s policy on electric vehicles, it has been decided that the state government will purchase and distribute the buses to every district,” said Arun Sharma, GMCBL manager of Sector 53 and Sector 10 depots in the city.

The official said that the number of buses to be given to Gurugram and by when they will be given had not been decided yet.

In August 2019, the department of heavy industry (under the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises) announced the sanction of 5,595 electric buses to 64 cities, including Gurugram, under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (Fame) subsidy. It was the only city in Haryana to have been allotted the e-buses under the second phase of Fame.

There are currently over 160 GMCBL buses plying on 29 different routes in Gurugram and Faridabad.

Earlier this year, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram in August launched the city’s first electric three-wheelers zone (ETWZ), where only electric autos and e-rickshaws can ply, to promote the use of e-vehicles. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had flagged off these vehicles as part of the Parivartan project from Galleria Market in DLF Phase 4.