PANAJI
Gearing up for the implementation of Centre’s ambitious ‘PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme’, the Goa government has notified ‘Urban Mobility Area’ with an aim to augment e-bus operation connecting statutory towns and census towns.
The Department of Urban Development has notified North Goa Urban Mobility Area and South Goa Urban Mobility Area covering the municipal areas for the implementation of the scheme. The Department has said that it will now initiate the process for planning of routes, development of associated infrastructure, and operation of e-bus services to be carried out under the PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme under the notified areas.
The Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd (KTCL) shall be the implementing agency while the Chief Secretary headed state-level steering committee has been constituted to process proposals under the scheme.
Introduced in August 2023, the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme aims to deploy 10,000 electric buses across India to boost public transport and promote e-mobility, with an estimated cost of Rs 57,613 crore on public private partnership model.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India has launched “PM e-Bus Sewa” a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the objective of enhancing urban mobility by deploying electric buses in cities with populations ranging from 3 lakh to 40 lakh and other State capitals with less than 3 lakh population as per the Census 2011,” the notification stated.
