(a) whether the State Government of Himachal Pradesh has submitted any proposals to the Union Government seeking financial assistance for replacement of old buses and for creation of efficient transportation facilities in tribal and rural regions of the State;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the time by which these proposals are likely to be approved by the Government?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (DR. TUSHAR A. CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (c) The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has received a proposal from the State Government of Himachal Pradesh on 03.07.2010 seeking financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 45.88 crores for replacement of buses/taxies and for purchase of additional buses /taxies for three tribal depots of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) for providing better transportation facility to the tribal people of the State. Currently there is no scheme in this Ministry under which the above proposal of Government of Himachal Pradesh can be considered.
Under this Ministry’s scheme, viz., ‘Strengthening of Public Transport Systemâ€, for providing financial assistance for use of latest information technologies, Government of Himachal Pradesh was sanctioned a one time central assistance of Rs. 3.453 crore (50% of the project cost) for installation of GPS based Vehicle Tracking System, Passenger Information System, Procurement of Ticket Vending Machines and Automatic Fare Collection System in Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) on 28.12.2010.