8 Northeast cities found eligible for PM-eBus Sewa Scheme

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Government of India has identified a total of 8 cities in the Northeast, including Guwahati, as eligible for the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme.

The Government of India launched the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme on August 16, 2023, with the aim of augmenting bus operations by deploying 10,000 electric buses across the country on the PPP model. The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Urban Transport Division). Under the scheme, it is expected that Assam will receive 100 new electric buses by the end of this year or next year.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs carried out an analysis of the population and identified 199 cities across the country as eligible for the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme. In the analysis, the central government found eight cities in the Northeast to be eligible for implementation of the scheme. The chosen cities are Guwahati, Imphal, Shillong, Aizawl, Kohima, Itanagar, Agartala, and Gangtok. The eight cities selected for the scheme happen to be the capital cities of all eight NE states.

The population of Guwahati has been placed in the category of cities with 5–10 lakh people, according to the ministry. The other seven cities are in the category of cities with less than 5 lakh population.

According to sources at the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC), 200 new electric buses coloured green were introduced in Guwahati. The new green buses are providing relief to the city’s commuters as they are air-conditioned and have no detrimental effect on the pollution level in the city. As Guwahati has been found eligible for the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, the ASTC expects to receive 100 more electric buses.

ASTC sources further stated that the maintenance will be provided by the central government, and they anticipate that all they have to do is provide the conductors for the buses. The introduction of the new e-buses is expected to boost electric mobility, reduce noise and air pollution, and curb carbon emissions.

Also Read: Union Cabinet approves ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ (sentinelassam.com)

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