Delhi govt's project to procure 1,000 e-buses delayed by one year

The Delhi government's ambitious project of procuring 1,000 e-buses to combat alarming air pollution in the national capital has been delayed by at least one year, showed the outcome budget 2019-20 released by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday.

The process of procuring the electric buses by the Delhi government was delayed for various reasons, including the model code of conduct which was in place for the Lok Sabha polls, showed the document.

The government had approved calling tenders for the first batch of 385 full-electric buses on March 2 this year. The tenders were floated on March 10 but the process was interrupted due to the poll conduct, said the outcome budget of the transport department.

"As per the revised schedule, the bids will be received on July 10, 2019. Induction schedule of the buses will be delayed accordingly," it said.

The bids will open on July 30, 2019, and supply of buses by the manufacturer to the concessionaire will begin in March 2020. The roll out was originally scheduled to begin from March 31, 2019, timeline for the project showed.

Also, induction of 1,000 low-floor buses through the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will also be delayed as an earlier tender floated by the public transporter was scrapped since only one bidder had turned up.

The Delhi Cabinet will extend approval for fresh bid on June 20.

The first lot 38 such buses is scheduled to arrive 25 weeks after the date of Cabinet decision. The rest will arrive in batches of 240 and the entire fleet will arrive by 41 weeks of the Cabinet decision, showed outcome budget document.

The roll out of 1,000 standard-floor buses fitted with lifts for specially abled people will begin from July and the entire induction process will conclude by November, it said.

The outcome budget showed that the engagement of 1,000 low-floor buses by the transport department under the cluster scheme will begin in November with at least 25 per cent buses fetched in first lot. The induction process will be completed by February 2020.