The operation of city-service buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has hit a roadblock.

Following mismanagement in running these buses, a decision has recently been taken to hand over their operations from Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (Buidco) to the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC).

A proposal in this regard would soon be sent to the state cabinet for approval in the proposed change in guard for running the JNNURM buses.

Sources claimed the decision was taken in the wake of sluggish progress in delivery of the buses and poor monitoring of their daily operations. Of 260 buses to be operated under this project, only 40 have been delivered in the past year. Sources claimed 25 buses are parked at the Phulwarisharif BSRTC depot for the past three months awaiting necessary clearances.

At present, the buses are being operated under the ambit of Bihar Urban Transport Services Limited (BUTSL), a special purpose vehicle formed by BUIDCo. "BUTSL neither has an office nor is there a separate depot for the JNNURM buses. We are utilising the BSRTC depot, which is in a pretty bad condition. It was observed that BSRTC has the expertise in running buses, thus they should be handed over the operation of these buses," said a BUIDCo official.

The 32-seater buses having electronic route display panels have started running after a delay of six years. The central sanctioning and monitoring committee (CSMC) under JNNURM in its 69th meeting held on February 20 and 21, 2009, had approved the purchase of buses for Patna and Bodh Gaya for a collective amount of Rs 135 crore.

The first lot of 20 buses had hit the streets on August 15, last year. Another 20 buses were delivered in November but not a single bus has been delivered thereafter. The 40 buses are parked at the two depots belonging to BSTRC at Phulwarisharif and Malsalami, which is also in quite bad shape.

At present, Delhi-based Adie Broswon looks after operations of the buses. Executives in Adie Broswon have objected to the proposal of handing over the operation of buses to BSRTC. "We were selected for operation and maintenance of these buses through a bidding process. A contract was also signed with us and its clauses would be violated if the operation of the buses would be handed over to another agency," said an executive in Adie Broswon.

Hiccups in the operation of buses apart, swanky bus queue shelters constructed especially for these new buses have also failed to serve their purpose. At present, there is absolutely no mechanism in place for maintenance of these bus queue shelters, resulting in encroachment and damage. Leave apart the normal city-service buses, even the vehicles operating under JNNURM don't stop in front of these queue shelters.

The bus queue shelters have been developed as a part of the city-operational plan mandated by the ministry of urban development for running under the centrally sponsored JNNURM. According to the city operational plan for Patna, for operation of 260 buses, 216 modern bus queue shelters and 97 electronic traffic signals are proposed to be installed.

Electronic traffic signals have been installed at Income Tax roundabout, Planetarium T-junction, Kotwali crossing and Dak Bungalow crossing.

BUIDCo officials claimed that traffic signals would be seen at all 97 places within a fortnight. However, the operation of the signals would begin only after a traffic control, at the office of senior superintendent of police, is made ready. The work on the room is yet to start.