nagpur :- Not all 'rotting' buses

After handing over 60 buses to the city bus service operator Vansh Nimay Infra Projects Limited from the fleet of 240 new vehicles that were sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), suddenly the NMC has realized that it owned only 142 buses and has not paid any amount for procuring the rest of the 98 buses from Tata Motors.

TOI has reported many times that 180 buses are still stranded and causing a royalty loss of over Rs 6.75 lakh (Rs 3,750 per bus). Leader of opposition Vikas Thakre too attacked the NMC administration for the huge loss.

Now, the NMC officials have woken up from their slumber and issued records clarifying that it had paid Rs 24.42 crore for procuring 120 buses from Tata Motors and Rs 4.89 crore for 22 buses from Ashok Leyland. So, it owned 142 buses.

The procedural mess has resulted in the buses that are parked at the Tata workshop on Kamptee Road developing several problems like battery discharge, electronic display systems going defunct, hydraulic doors getting jammed and grass growing on the floor boards.

A senior NMC official informed that NMC will add these buses in its fleet only after Tata Motors, the manufacturers, will spend an additional Rs 27 lakh (average Rs 15,000 each for 180 buses) on their repairs and make it operational.

Nagpur Mahanagar Parivahan Limited (NMPL), executive director, Mahesh Morone told TOI, "The NMC received 240 new buses (218 buses Tata Motors and 22 from Ashok Leyland) under JNNURM. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 31.80 crore while the state gave Rs 12.72 crore. The total cost of the project is Rs 63.60 crore. However, till date NMC received only Rs 25.68 crore (Rs 15.90 from centre and Rs 6.36 from state) including Rs 3.42 crore contributed by Vansh Nimay. From this we have paid amount for purchasing 142 buses," he said.