By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 30: People living in rural Meghalaya, who are required to visit district headquarters for various reasons but are facing connectivity issues, may now have a reason to smile.
The state government will introduce 90 buses under the Chief Minister’s Regional Connectivity Scheme 2025 to connect district headquarters with block and regional headquarters. The scheme aims to strengthen regional connectivity across the state.
Sanjay Goyal, Commissioner and Secretary of Transport Department, said the scheme has been initiated after a comprehensive study on connectivity from block headquarters to district headquarters.
Acknowledging that there is a gap in connectivity and it is being addressed only by the private enterprise, he said the government will incentivise entrepreneurs who will come forward to implement the scheme.
One of the priorities of the scheme is to ensure that these buses reach the district headquarters by 9:30 am and depart by 5:30 pm to cater to the demand of officegoers, students, patients visiting hospitals, and people going to markets.
The government will identify the routes based on assessment, Goyal said, adding that the routes, which have been planned, are economical.
With this move, he said, the government will cover 80-90 per cent of the institutions such as block development offices, primary health centres, government colleges etc.
The government will provide 35% of the on-road cost of vehicle as down payment, while the operator will be required to contribute 5% of the on-road cost. The remaining 60% will be financed through a loan, to be repaid by the operator in monthly instalments over a 5-year period.
The government intends to support entrepreneurs in buying vehicles from a range of options, including up to 32-seater passenger vehicles, along with additional support such as capacity building and training.
A state-level screening committee, to be headed by the Secretary of Transport Department, will carry out verification and scrutiny of the applicants.
The selected individuals must undergo training under ‘CM RTS Operator Training Programme’ to be conducted by the Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC).
The scheme will be implemented in two phases over a span of two years with allocation of two buses per route.
The government is conducting a study on the possible routes. It is of the view that the number of MTC-operated buses should be increased to meet the high demand on certain routes.
Stating that people have more faith in a government-run operator than a private operator, Goyal said there is a possibility that the MTC will be given an additional fleet of buses.