State transport corporations to buy CNG buses

 In an eco-friendly move, the State transport department has decided to buy buses run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for its transport corporations.

Addressing a press conference in Bangalore on Friday, Transport Minister R Ramalinga Reddy said the State government would utilise grants under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to purchase 310 buses run on CNG for the Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation, and 67 CNG buses for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).

Besides, the government will utilise its own funds to purchase 150 buses run on CNG for the KSRTC. Reddy said the initiative was aimed at exploiting the advantage of the availability of CNG, with the Dhabol-Bangalore natural gas pipeline reaching Bangalore.The Gas Authority of India Limited will set up CNG depots at bus stations in the City, he said. The CNG-run buses will hit the streets in nine months.

The State plans to purchase 500 to 600 CNG buses every year. “In the next 10 years, the entire fleet of buses in the State transport corporations will be run on CNG,” Reddy said.

Reddy said he had only written a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to constitute an expert committee to explore the feasibility of bifurcating the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Any decision to bifurcate the BBMP will be taken only after extensive consultation, he said.

Replying to a query, he said the implementation of Transfer of Development Rights in Bangalore will help in expediting the process of widening roads, he said.

The first phase of Namma Metro will be completed by September 2015, Reddy said.