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Nagpur: Barely seven months after presenting a Rs 575.58 crore budget, Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Transport Committee has approved a proposal seeking an additional Rs 108.51 crore for Aapli Bus operations. The Transport Department has also approached NMC’s accounts and finance department seeking over Rs 100 crore to ensure the smooth running of the city’s public transport service. The Transport Department’s original budget projected revenue of Rs 190 crore against estimated expenditure of Rs 574.89 crore. It sought an NMC subsidy of Rs 200 crore, Rs 50 crore more than its earlier proposal, to bridge the funding gap.
However, a senior accounts department officer told TOI that arranging funds of this magnitude at this stage would be difficult, given the civic body’s existing financial commitments and budgetary constraints. Sources said the original estimates factored in revenue from bus depots, advertising rights and other sources without adequately assessing their actual earning potential or the department’s expenditure requirements.
The proposal, approved at a meeting chaired by Transport Committee chairperson Mangala Khekre, will now be placed before the standing committee.
5 CNG pumps : The panel approved five CNG pumps on NMC land at Wathoda, Khapri, Wadi, Hingna and the workshop premises under the BOT model. Members questioned the move as most NMC buses run on electricity, while the proposal does not specify the revenue expected from land leasing. Opposition members alleged the proposal was intended to benefit a particular individual.
Bus operations are expected to cost Rs 295 crore between Oct 2026 and March 2027, according to Tuesday’s proposal. Against this, the department expects to mobilise Rs 186.49 crore through the remaining NMC grant, passenger fares, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) assistance and PM e-Bus Sewa funds, leaving a shortfall of Rs 108.51 crore. The proposal attributed the financial strain to the expansion of the fleet from 430 buses in April to 825 in Oct. Meanwhile, the committee returned proposals on revised rates for contract-hired buses, advertising rights for 242 bus shelters and Rs 13.84 crore in infrastructure development at six bus depots, seeking modifications.
Nine operators are now managing services across eight depots, significantly increasing contractual payments and operating costs. Other proposals on the agenda were approved.