NMC appoints consultant for DPR of 100 EV buses

Nashik: The civic body has appointed a consultant to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to introduce the 100 electric buses they will be receiving under the ‘PM E-bus Seva’ scheme.
During a meeting with the urban development department of the state last month, Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) was instructed to prepare the DPR for the scheme launched by the Centre.
Cities with a population of up to 20 lakh will benefit from this scheme. NMC officials said that the DPR will be ready by the first week of October.
In addition to submitting the DPR, NMC was also asked to furnish some basic details about the transport service currently provided by the civic body and the infrastructure in place. The last date for submitting this was September 10.
“NMC has a total of 250 buses operating in the city through two private agencies, including 200 CNG and 50 diesel buses. There are two depots Tapovan and Nashik Road. We have submitted all of this basic data and also informed the government about the electric bus depot, which we are setting up at the Adgaon truck terminus on the outskirts of the city,” an NMC official said.
The appointed consultant has already started preparing the DPR. “Once the DPR is ready by the first week of October, we plan to submit it to the Centre via the state government by mid-October," the official added.
According to NMC officials, under the ‘PM E-bus Seva’ scheme, the buses are to be procured through private agencies, which will then operate, maintain, and manage the buses for a period of 12 years. These agencies will be paid on a per-km basis.
The Centre will provide a Rs24 per km grant for 12 years, while the remaining amount is to be paid by the civic body.
The tender will be floated by the Centre, and then it will appoint agencies to procure, operate, manage, and maintain the buses for the cities selected under the ‘PM E-bus Seva’ scheme.