Haryana government to run electric buses in Gurgaon

The Haryana government is planning to set up an environment-friendly transportation system in Gurgaon on the pattern of Poland.

The same was announced by the state’s Urban Local Bodies Minister, Kavita Jain on 4 July 2017. The Cabinet Minister, who is leading a delegation on a visit to the plant of JBM Solaris Electric Vehicles Limited in Poland's Ponzan, said that in the first phase, 75 to 100 electric buses would be operated.

Key Highlights

• In the first phase, the electric vehicles would be operated in Gurgaon that has excellent infrastructure and facilities in residential, commercial and public sectors.

• In comparison to ordinary buses, each electric bus would help save about 4.25 lakh litres diesel and reduce carbon emissions by 1150 tonnes in ten years of operation.

• The deployment of the electric vehicles will also reduce traffic congestion and provide better public transport system to an average of 50,000 people every day.

The project would be jointly funded by the Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). While the GMDA would bear 50 percent of the cost, Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon and HSIIDC would bear 40 and 10 percent respectively.

The JBM Group has already established plant for manufacturing of CNG buses in Ballabhgarh near Faridabad, which would soon begin manufacturing electric buses under the Make in India programme.

According to the state minister, the move would help in improving the environment. Jain added saying that the central and state governments were committed to operating electric vehicles in the country.