Bihar transport minister Brishen Patel. Telegraph picture

Chhapra, Jan. 15: The state government is banking heavily on public-private partnership (PPP) mode to revive the transport department.

Transport minister Brishen Patel today flagged off a bus service, to be operated by Eden Transport Limited, from Chhapra bus depot. These buses will ply on Siwan, Chhapra and Patna roads.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said 105 buses, each of which was given a subsidy of Rs 5 lakh, hit the roads today. He added that the department has received 200 more tenders for different routes. “Tenders for 140 new buses for Patna Township area have been invited. A subsidy of Rs 7.5 lakh would be given on each bus.”

The minister said Bihar State Transport Corporation (BSTC) has envisaged a plan to renovate the dilapidated bus stands. Renovation work on the Bankipur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga depots has begun in the first phase. Under the PPP mode, seven other bus depots will be developed, he said. The minister added that an inter-state agreement with Uttar Pradesh is in its final stage. One hundred buses were reconditioned last year and 75 buses under PPP mode are plying.

Patel said BSTC was formed in 1959 on a no profit-no loss basis but with the passage of time, the system collapsed. It started out with 1,600 buses but the fleet was reduced to 150 over the years, he said. He added the NDA government under Nitish Kumar is trying to revive ailing departments and make them efficient. He said: “A drivers’ training institute in Aurangabad would be formed for which land has already been earmarked. Arrangement for e-payment of taxes of commercial vehicles, buses and trucks will start from this month itself.”

Labour minister Janardan Singh Sigriwal urged to launch a bus service from Sitab diara, the birthplace of Jai Prakash Narayan.

He also urged the district administration to have a sympathetic stance towards the shopkeepers on the premises of the depot and said they should not be displaced. They should be given priority in the proposed construction of shops, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Eden Transport Limited managing director Sacchidanand Rai said: “After the welcome change in Bihar, I came here and invested Rs 60 crore in the transport business for the people’s convenience.”