Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde-led MSRTC Board Approves Hiring of 5,159 Electric Buses

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation will hire 5,150 electric buses, buy 2,000 diesel buses and convert 5,000 vehicles from diesel to LNG, the decisions being taken in the state-run undertaking’s directors’ board meeting on Friday.

A release from the office of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is chairman of MSRTC, said he had approved in principle a plan to take a loan from the Asian Development Bank for electric buses.

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In the 302nd meeting of the board of directors, Shinde also said it is necessary that MSRTC, which is the lifeline of the state, gets a “facelift, and asked officials to provide quality service to the passengers as well as maintain cleanliness of buses, the release added.

In the previous meeting of the directors’ board, approval was given for hiring 2,000 electric buses, but the CM increased the number to 5,150, the release said, adding he had directed officials to ensure fares of these air-conditioned buses are kept low.

Since the chassis for CNG buses are not available and in view of the low number of CNG pumps, Shinde also approved the purchase of 2000 diesel buses instead of CNG for MSRTC, besides hiring 180 buses for Pune and Sangli division.

Five thousand buses running on diesel will be converted to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel, which will be supplied at a rate 20 to 25 percent lower than the prevailing rate of diesel, it said. This work will be done by the supplier company and, initially, the MSRTC will not have to make any investment.

Shinde also gave approval for increasing the dearness allowance of MSRTC employees and officials to 34 percent from the present 24 percent, apart from the salary revision proposal of its officers for a six year period from 2016-17 to 2021-22, the release said.

According to the release, the limit of additional gratuity to the heirs of employees who died while in service has been increased to Rs 7.05 lakh from Rs 6.15 lakh under the additional gratuity and employee deposit linked insurance scheme.

MSRTC is one of the biggest state-owned public transport undertakings in the country with a fleet of over 16,000 buses. The loss-making corporation was ferrying over 65 lakh passengers daily before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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