Haryana to study Gujarat PPP model to build new bus stands

In response to a proposal sent by the transport department in this connection, the state transport minister Anil Vij had recently asked the department to study the model and procedure adopted in other states on PPP mode.

The department has planned to hand over these bus stands to the private players under the PPP model for 33 years to construct and maintain the bus stand premises. (File/Representative Image)

Keen to have state-of-the-art bus stands, the Haryana transport authorities have planned the Public Private Partnership (PPP) concept as adopted by the Gujarat government.

Initially, the Haryana transport department planned to construct bus terminals of Gurgaon, (Sector-29), Karnal and Pipli (Kurukshetra) on PPP model. The department has planned to hand over these bus stands to the private players under the PPP model for 33 years to construct and maintain the bus stand premises. Under the concept, the bus stand will be used by the staffers of the department for movement of buses and the commuters while the commercial portion of it would be looked after by the private player. In lieu of utilisation of the bus stand commercial portion, the private player will give annual lease also.

In response to a proposal sent by the transport department in this connection, the state transport minister Anil Vij had recently asked the department to study the model and procedure adopted in other states on PPP mode.

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Vij had also asked to ensure that there is no loss of revenue to the state. Returning the proposal to the department, Vij had also mentioned on the file: “Each and every type of sale in the bus stand premises should bet the revenue share surely to the state.”

Haryana transport officials say they are encouraged with the experience of already adopted model of PPP for upgradation of bus stand in Faridabad with an expenture of Rs 130 crore which was incurred by the private player. Explaining the concept, a senior officer of the transport department said: “The private partner is giving an annual lease of Rs 3 crore to the department apart from maintaining the bus stand.”

The officer also said: “Apart from studying the PPP concept as adopted by the Gujarat authorities where the bus stands have been given on 99-year-old lease, we would also study the mode adopted by neighbouring states like Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. However, the PPP concept as adopted by Punjab many years back had not been successful.”

After patronising the private-public partnership model for setting up state-of-the-art air-conditioned bus stands in Punjab for three years, the state government in 2010 had decided to set up many of these projects on its own.

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In 2010, the then state Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal had told The Indian Express “the existing build, operate and turn (BOT) arrangement to set up state-of-the-art bus stands in the state was not contributing to generate revenue for the department.”

However, the Gujarat government had earlier stated that there are iconic bus ports in Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Ranip, Mehsana and Surat. The then Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in 2020 had stated: “You would recall how buses of ST (state transport) used to be in Gujarat. They would be creaking, would not have windows… But thanks to Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat and today’s Prime Minister, we have bus stations that look like airports. He (Modi) took initiative to create world-class facilities in Gujarat. He insisted that bus stations have food zones, cinema halls, clean toilets.”