Hi-tech buses left to rust at Ballabgarh depot

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, February 11

What was seen as a move to provide efficient public transport services appears to have turned into a sour dream. Around 90 buses provided to improve the city bus service under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have been dumped for want of repairs and staff at the Haryana Roadways depot.

A majority of these ‘state-of-the-art’ buses purchased by the government under the JNNURM project were handed over to the Transport Department between 2010 and 2012. The buses have been dumped as junk at the Haryana Roadways workshop in Ballabgarh here.

Though the exact cost of the buses is still to be calculated by the Transport Department, sources however, claimed the value could be well over Rs25 crores at present.

Faridabad was the only district in the state to be included in the JNNURM project, launched across the country in 2005. The city bus service was started in 2010 when the buses were provided to the Transport Department under the JNNURM project.

However, the situation has taken a turn for worse with around 90 of the 150 buses in need of repairs, due to no staff and lack of maintenance of the fleet, according to an employee at the depot.

He said nearly half of the 25 Volvo buses costing around Rs 85 lakh each had been dumped as waste in the depot as there was no mechanic to repair them. Nearly 65 buses, which include low floor buses worth Rs60 lakh each and ordinary buses worth Rs16 lakh each, have been left to rust. Only nine mini buses ply on various routes.

Lamenting that lack of staff including drivers, conductors, trained mechanics and spare parts had rendered a majority of the buses as useless, Ram Asray Yadav of the Haryana Roadways Workers Union blamed the state government for its careless attitude.

He said had the fleet been provided adequate staff and a repair contract from the supplier company, this wastage could have been avoided. There has been no recruitment of technical staff since 1992 making the department reel under crisis.

The general manager of Haryana Roadways Vikram Malik said the issue had already been taken up. Tek Chand Sharma MLA from Prithla, who visited the depot recently announced to take up the matter with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.