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| Order on 15-yr-old buses confined to papers | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 16: It has been almost a year since the government announced condemning of above 15-year-old buses, but the order is confined to papers.
The State Transport department had decided to condemn the buses that are more than 15-year-old under a proposed vehicle scrapping policy in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Nothing has been done for last one year to implement the order. Above 15-year-old buses are still plying on the roads," an official of the Transport department said.
The official said the government had decided to pay Rs 5 lakh to owner of each condemned vehicle. "It seems that the order has been put on the hold. There is a strong lobby of transporters that doesn't want replacement of old vehicles," the official added.
As per the official documents, the government had proposed to subsidise 500 new large buses in the private sector.
"Accordingly, Rs 25 crore has been provided in the budget. Transport department in consultation with Finance department will work out the modalities/guidelines in this regard," the document reads.
"In order to provide for low floor buses in these two cities, an initial sum of Rs 25 crore is to be provided in the budget. A decision would be taken regarding this new service to be run by SRTC or smart city corporation or altogether to a new company," the documents read, which were framed after government decided to condemn above 15-year-old buses.
"It is further proposed to provide Rs 25 crore for purchase of new buses by SRTC in 2019-2020 for plying on long routes. An additional Rs 2 crore each will be provided for purchase of buses for the districts of Leh and Kargil and Rs 1 crore for Gurez which remain landlocked for landlocked for half of the year," the documents reads.
But nothing has been done on the ground yet.
It has been found that buses, which are more than 15-year-old contribute a lot of pollution. Vehicle emissions contribute to rise in levels of toxic carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter.
Urban transportation, particularly in the capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu, comprise mainly of matadors. The bus service in these two capital cities is completely absent, causing increased traffic volume on the roads.
There is a need to have a revival plan for State Road Transport Corporation by way of augmentation of its fleet. For the last four years, the SRTC has witnessed heavy losses and its assets are lying defunct. The Corporation had around 1800 vehicles including buses and trucks in 1900s whose number has reduced to less than 900. |
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