Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said the government will immediately procure 20 school buses.
The chief minister made the announcement through his social media handles and said that 21 electric buses for urban transport and 12 for tourism will be procured in a phased manner.
He also said that a subsidy scheme for 200 agricultural commercial vehicles and 50 high-end tourism passenger vehicles that will also be launched soon.
During the last budget session of the Assembly the chief minister had announced introduction of school buses with an aim to reduce traffic congestion in the state capital, much of which is blamed on ferrying children to and from school in private cars.
The plan is for 100 buses to be rolled out in the city. The government had also planned to introduce a fleet of electric buses for public transportation and has budgeted Rs 20 crore for such public transport in 2022-23.
Last week the Meghalaya High Court too had suggested that government officials should meet parents and school authorities to try to persuade them to avail school buses and allay their apprehensions on security and delay.
Meanwhile, the chief minister held a meeting with Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project team to discuss new proposals in the mobility sector, funded by the World Bank and said positive steps are being taken to solve the congestion issue in the city.
