PUNE, 11 NOV. The Central Government has approved the purchase of one thousand 'E-Buses' (Electric Buses) for Pune city under the PM-e Drive Scheme. Union Minister of Heavy Industries, H.D. Kumaraswamy, has given the final seal of approval for this. Consequently, these buses will soon be inducted into the fleet of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal (PMPML). Union Minister of State, Muralidhar Mohol, informed that this will strengthen Pune's public transport system, help reduce congestion, and aid in pollution control.
PMPML is the major public transport system serving within the limits of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, as well as the 'PMRDA' area. PMPML currently has two thousand buses, of which approximately 750 are self-owned and the rest are contractor-owned. Considering the growing expansion and rising population of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, it is necessary for PMPML's fleet to have at least three thousand buses. Therefore, Union Minister Mohol had been continuously lobbying with the state government as well as the central government to include new buses in the PMPML fleet. For this, Mohol pursued the matter by meeting H.D. Kumaraswamy repeatedly, which has now yielded success. The cooperation of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also crucial in this process.
Mohol stated that he had met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ensure that the necessary letter for providing funds for these buses was sent by the state government to the Reserve Bank. Following this meeting, the state government immediately sent the proposal to the Reserve Bank. Subsequently, the proposal for these 1000 'E-Buses' was sent to the Central Ministry of Heavy Industries through PMPML. To expedite this, I met H.D. Kumaraswamy in New Delhi fifteen days ago and discussed the matter in detail. He had also assured me of promptly accelerating the proposal.
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