PMPML to get 900 new buses in the fleet

Of the added buses, 300 seven-metre-long e-buses will be on lease, 300 approved by the board of directors and 300 will be provided by the central government, says minister

Pune guardian minister Chandrakant Patil on Thursday announced that 900 buses will be added to the fleet of public transport utility Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) in the coming months. The minister said that the PMPML staff will be covered under the Seventh Pay Commission from July this year.

The 300 e-buses will be added in PMPML’s fleet by the time the metro services start. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

“Of the added buses, 300 seven-metre-long e-buses will be on lease, 300 approved by the board of directors and 300 will be provided by the central government,” said Patil at a press meet held at the head office in Swargate.

Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar and his Pimpri-Chinchwad counterpart Shekhar Singh, PMPML chairman and managing director Om Prakash Bakoria, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) commissioner Rahul Mahiwal and PMPML joint managing sirector Pragya Potdar-Pawar were present at the meeting.

“The 300 e-buses will be added in PMPML’s fleet by the time the metro services start. Of the 300 buses provided under Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, 100 will be e-buses and 200 CNG buses on lease,” said Patil.

“The 50 per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA) under the Seventh Pay Commission implemented from January 2023 to PMPML employees will be provided from July. The arrears will be deposited in staff’s bank accounts soon and the additional cost to the firm will be ₹4 crore per month,” Patil said.