Cabinet nod to 10,000 more buses in cities

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Tuesday approved procurement of up to 10,000 buses and ancillary infrastructure for urban transport under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), said an official statement.

The decision, which will cost Rs.6,300 crore, to improve urban services, particularly urban transport which is the engine of growth in cities and towns, it said.

According to the statement, a minimum of 2,000 buses will be earmarked for the hill states including the north eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The financial support for ancillary infrastructure components under the programme would be a maximum Rs.20 crore for cities with million plus population and Rs. 1 crore and above for smaller cities, the statement said.