City bus service a distant dream

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 29

The traffic in the city has increased manifolds. Over 12 lakh private vehicles ply on the city roads every day, the Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar (MCJ) seems to be in no mood to introduce city bus service on some busiest routes here in the city. 

Even though the MCJ has set aside a whooping Rs 379 crore to be spent on development of the city infrastructure only, this includes reviving the city bus service project here. It has made no provision in the fiscal year budget of 2016-17 to implement the project on its own and was eying on various Central grants since the last four years. 

Earlier, around 8,000 people used to travel in the city through city bus service every day. With no bus service to move inside the city, most of the load has now on the private vehicles and the auto rickshaws, hence further leading to increase in traffic and pollution in the city.

Although in 2014, the state government had floated a proposal under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to the Ministry of Urban Development for allotting 128 buses for the city but then Punjab and Haryana High Court had to keep the air pollution under check and directed Jalandhar Bus Transport Service to switch to the CNG and allowed a dispenser to be installed at Lamba Pind. 

As the CNG was not available, the MCJ urged Punjab and Haryana High Court to allow it to use diesel buses instead of the CNG but the demand was turned down by the court. Following this, the MCJ could only get approval of 46 CNG buses under the JNNURM scheme. This also includes Rs 3.55 crore to set up a workshop in the city. 

Later, with Narendra Modi government at Centre, the JNNURM was taken over by Atal Mission for Regeneration of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar is now again contemplating to send the same initial proposal of around 128 CNG buses under the AMRUT Scheme to the Ministry of Urban development (MoUD). 

Though when contacted, Mayor Sunil Jyoti said the department has made a revised detailed progress report (DPR) and would soon send it to the Union Ministry for Urban development for its final approval. 

"While we have demanded Rs 52 crore to buy 128 buses to be run in city, another Rs 15 crore for bearing other auxiliary charges such as the implementation of the intelligent traffic system (ITS), construction of new bus shelters and also signage etc," said Jyoti.

He said, "Another Rs 41 crore has been sought for the construction of foot over bridges, footpaths and subways, Rs 125 crore for the development of paid parking system (multi-level) at nine different locations in the city. 

Also, the MCJ has proposed a 33-km stretch at an estimated amount of Rs 33 crore for the non-motorised transport that includes construction of a 10-km cycle track. 

Though with Jalandhar getting the cleanest city tag in the state, residents too have raised their aspirations from the district administration and have now demanded a public friendly transportation system in the city.

However, with the non availability of the CNG in the city and the Assembly elections round the corner and a possible change in guards, the city residents may have to wait for another couple of years to have their own city bus service.