Addressing the gathering during the Praja Palana Vijayotsavalu celebrations at NTR Marg, the Chief Minister unveiled his vision for introducing modernised, efficient, and sustainable transport in Telangana and said that there won’t be any diesel-run buses within the Outer Ring Road.
“All buses will be replaced with electric buses, which are environment-friendly,” said Revanth Reddy. Citing Spain and Delhi as examples, he said there is an urgent need to protect the state from pollution.
“The government is all set to create the best transport infrastructure. Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who was instrumental in getting the Telangana statehood Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha, is working hard towards this vision,” the Chief Minister said.
The event was attended by transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, government advisers, corporation chairpersons and other officials.
The Chief Minister recalled the sacrifices of 45,000 RTC employees who took part in the Telangana agitation, putting at stake the future of their families.
Speaking about the Mahalakshmi scheme, the Chief Minister said till December 4, 116.13 crore women have used the free travel facility and saved Rs 3,913.81 crore in transportation costs. The RTC bus currently carries an average of 58 lakh passengers every day. Before the launch of the Mahalakshmi scheme, 45 lakh passengers used to travel.
The implementation of the Mahalakshmi scheme, the average number of passengers has increased by about 12 lakh passengers every day. This is an additional 27 per cent compared to the previous year. Before the implementation of Mahalakshmi, 40 per cent of women were bus passengers. Now the number has increased to 65 percent.
He said the state government has recently given permission to fill 3,038 posts in the RTC. The recruitment process for these posts is currently ongoing. The government is filling the respective posts as soon as possible.
