Rs 28 cr okays for converting Smart Buses into electric vehicles

Aurangabad, July 11:

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) administrator A K Pandey today approved Rs 28.41 crore for converting 100 Smart City buses into electric vehicles. The provision of the fund has been made in the budget to implement Electric Policy in the city.

Earlier, the Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited (ASCDCL) had purchased 100 buses under Smart Cities Mission to offer quality urban transport service in the city. However, due to the rise in diesel prices, the transport project got pushed into financial losses and the service got disrupted.

The AMC received a letter from Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) member secretary Ashok Shingare on October 14, 2021. It mentioned the Electric Policy 2021 and instructed AMC to submit a detailed project report on National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as per the policy. Hence the AMC submitted the action plan and the acceptance of the policy on electric vehicles to MPCB on February 3, 2022.

Under the 15th Finance Commission, the AMC would be receiving a grant of Rs 119 crore to AMC from the financial year 2020-21 to 2025-26. Taking a cue from it, the AMC decided to have 80 per cent of electric vehicles in its herd. Accordingly, the proposal of valuing Rs 93.03 crore has been mooted for the purpose.

The administrator has approved an expenditure of Rs 28.41 crore. It includes an expense of Rs 15.69 crore made on the project in 2021-22. The fund will now be used for converting Majhi Smart Buses into electric buses. The process will not be completed in one go, but in phases in future, said the sources.