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Monday Musings: Electric buses for Pune? At what cost?
What has shocked everyone is the decision taken by the BJP leadership to hire 25 e-buses for the PMPML at an astronomical cost to the public exchequer
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators who control the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal corporations, and thereby the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML), have issued a work order to a private bus operator for the hiring of 25 electric buses for the city.
What has startled everyone are the terms of this work order. While the regular diesel or the eco-friendly CNG buses cost up to Rs. 35 lakh each, the electric buses sought to be hired by the PMPML cost Rs. 1.25 crore each. Since the cost is rather steep, the PMPML has proposed that it will pay a non-refundable subsidy of Rs.12.50 crore to the private operator at Rs. 50 lakh each bus. Further, the PMPML will bear the cost of electricity to charge these buses and additionally pay Rs. 40/km as the hiring charges. The buses will also be provided with a conductor by the PMPML while the driver will be employed by the firm. The private operator will undertake the maintenance of the buses (obviously, as the buses are owned by them) and will set up the e-charging infrastructure.
Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak, PMPML director Siddharth Shirole and leader of the house Shrinath Bhimale told the PMC general body recently that these 25 buses would become operational on Republic Day.
The BJP leaders also informed the house that these could well be the terms for the procurement of another 475 buses on hire to augment the PMPML fleet.
There is outright indignation over this deal in the city. One understands that electric buses are non-polluting and eco-friendly. But can that be the justification for a deal that is skewed so horribly against the interests of tax-payers?
The leader of opposition in the PMC, Chetan Tupe has alleged that these 25 buses have been lying idle in Mumbai after a litigation between the BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) and the private operator in a Mumbai court. We need to know if this is true.
As pointed out by HT, PMPML’s former chairman and managing director Tukaram Mundhe was opposed to this deal because he felt it was financially unviable for Pune. Now that he is not in the seat, the same proposal has been brought forth and cleared by BJP leaders.
Very correctly, citizen-activists have demanded a probe into this deal. What is also needed is a thorough examination of this deal by financial experts to see whether it is financially sound. An expert opinion of independent financial experts is extremely necessary for the tax-paying public of Pune to understand whether their hard-earned money is being spent judiciously by the politicians through the civic coffers.
The people of Pune have been suffering because of an inefficiently-run PMPML which has an extremely poor fleet strength and therefore poor frequency, poorly maintained buses and frequent bus breakdowns. Given this scenario, the PMPML cannot be allowed by the people of Pune to indulge in wasteful expenditure.
abhay.vaidya@htlive.com
