New Delhi, Nov 20 (KNN) States and Union territories such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, and Jammu & Kashmir will be amongst the first to receive electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, according to a report in the Financial express.

Maharashtra, will receive 1,453 buses, followed by Gujarat at 425 and Bihar at 400. Besides, Odisha will get 350 buses, Punjab will be given 347 units, Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana will receive 200 each, followed by Chandigarh at 100, Puducherry at 75, and Meghalaya at 50.

As per the report, centre has issued the first request for proposal (RFP) for procurement, supply, operation, and maintenance of 3,600 electric buses, and development of allied electric and civil infrastructure under scheme. The tender document issued by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) has been reviewed by FE.

According to the document, the maximum number of cumulative buses that can be allotted to one bidder has been restricted to 2,520 units. The procured e-Buses will be deployed in over 45 cities.

According to the document, cities with a population of 2–4 million will be eligible to receive 150 e-buses, while cities with a density of 1–2 million will get 100 units, and less than 500,000 will get 50.

“This RFP has been prepared for the deployment of 7m, 9 m, and 12m electric buses on a GCC basis through the PM-eBus Sewa,” the document read.

Furthermore, the Centre will provide assistance for a period of 10 years on the operational cost, and Rs 6,400 crore worth of funds will be provided by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

Apart from the assistance, government will further upstream electric charging infrastructure and the development of bus depots. In addition, the RFP document cites the enactment of the ‘payment security mechanism’ scheme.

In August, the Union cabinet cleared the scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of `20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government.

The ‘PM-eBus Sewa’ scheme will support bus operations for 10 years. It will cover cities with a population of 300,000 and above and will include all the capital cities of the ‘Union Territories, North Eastern Region, and Hill States’.

(KNN Bureau)