Within days of assuming office, the NDA government has started off with an agenda to push key reforms in various sectors.
29 May 2014 | 5393 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
Within days of assuming office, the NDA government has started off with an agenda to push key reforms in various sectors.
The new minister for urban development and housing minister Venkaiah Naidu has reportedly indicated that the government will make key changes in Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) ...
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Within days of assuming office, the NDA government has started off with an agenda to push key reforms in various sectors.
The new minister for urban development and housing minister Venkaiah Naidu has reportedly indicated that the government will make key changes in Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) that was launched by the UPA government, recasting as well as renaming it.
The first phase of the JNNURM in 2007 saw funds being spent on urban infrastructure as well improvement of bus services in various cities such as Mumbai and Delhi. Funds were made available for state transport companies to buy new buses.
Industry sources said, “The JNNURM scheme has helped to improve bus transportation in select cities. However, the lack of co-ordination between the state and the Centre on spending the funds has not helped in making real impact of the schemes in Tier 2 and 3 cities where the state of public transportation leaves much to be desired.”
On other fronts, there has been no traction on the bus body code which aims to bring in uniformity in bus body fabrication as well as enhance safety.
In the 2013 union Budget, the then finance minister had had said that public transport would get a boost as 10,000 new buses in 2013-14. A significant portion of the central fund was to be allocated for buses especially in hill states.
The country’s bus sector received a boost thanks to the JnNURM that ended in 2012 and was extended till 2014. Sources said the outgoing government had taken some steps to streamline the procedures involved in the buying/tendering process.
It remains to be seen if the new government will give a boost to hybrid buses in the new avatar of the JnNURM. Commercial vehicle players had displayed some offerings at the 2014 Auto Expo held in February this year.