IEP Chandigarh, January 27
Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Manohar Lal will inaugurate the Electric City Bus Service from Panipat on January 28, 2024. This initiative aims to not only benefit residents in nine cities but also contribute to environmental sustainability by ensuring zero pollution.
Transport Minister Sh. Mool Chand Sharma will inaugurate a comparable bus service facility from Jagadhri, Yamunanagar on January 29.
Providing further details, an official spokesperson informed that following the launches in Panipat and Jagadhri, the government will progressively introduce comparable services in seven additional cities throughout the State, namely Panchkula, Ambala, Sonipat, Rewari, Karnal, Rohtak, and Hisar. The rollout of the City Bus Service across all nine cities is slated for completion by June 2024.
In his Budget Speech of 2023, Chief Minister Sh. Manohar Lal had announced the government’s intention to introduce City Bus services in nine cities of Haryana with Municipal Corporations, along with adding Rewari city and enhancing existing services in Gurugram, Manesar, and Faridabad. The Transport Department efficiently executed this initiative in record time, marking it as a pioneering project in the country.
He said that with a fleet of 450 state-of-the-art, air-conditioned electric buses, this project, amounting to Rs 2450 crore over 12 years, represents not only a new dimension but also a significant stride toward a pollution-free environment. The state government appointed Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), an entity under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, as its consultant for the bus tender process. Through a global tender facilitated by CESL under the National e-Bus Plan, an order was secured for 375 (12-meter) buses, designated for operations within the City Bus Service. A total of 450 buses will be procured for the facility.
He said that separate depots are currently under construction for the City Bus Service in each of these nine cities. Existing depots in two locations, Panipat and Jagadhri (Yamunanagar), have been modified for operational launch. In the remaining seven locations, new depots are being built, each spanning approximately three acres of land, at a cost exceeding Rs 100 crores. Operations at these new depots are slated to commence by June 2024.
The spokesperson said that the city bus service will benefit not only the urban population but also the rural population of the district and the reach of bus service will be ensured in the villages around each city.
