Govt gives nod to buy 1,000 electric buses

The Delhi government on Wednesday gave “in principle” approval for procurement of 1,000 electric buses that will hit the city roads between June and July next year, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said. The approval to transport department’s proposal for ebuses was given in a meeting of Delhi cabinet chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Cabinet approves hiring of consultant to run 1000 electric buses in Delhi.” “This will be a big step in modernising Delhi’s transport sector and reducing pollution,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted. The government has directed Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System ( DIMTS) to submit its report on the proposal within three months, Mr Sisodia said. “The e- buses will roll out by between June and July next year,” he said. Terming the Cabinet decision as a very big step to address the issues of public transport and pollution, Mr Sisodia said that no other country in the world, except China, has such a large number of ebuses. The department also sought approval to engage 1,000 low floor AC electric buses under the gross cost model of contracting under the cluster scheme.