New policy for school buses coming up within a month

“We will draft a foolproof policy after speaking to all stakeholders to ensure chidlren’s safety. The entire school transport system needs to be streamlined and we will be doing so next month,” said Transport Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.

He said the policy would cover issues such as granting permission to bus owners,putting the onus on parents and schools and fixing rules for carrying students.

On Railway projects,Vikhe-Patil said a high-power committee comprising the transport minister,finance and planning secretaries and railway general managers had been formed for speedy decisions. “The delay in railway projects has been owing to tardy land acquisition. This committee will decide on the prolonged railway projects.”

The government has also decided to fund 40 to 50 per cent of the cost of four railway routes in rural Maharashtra,including the 261-km Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli-Vaijnath,270-km Vardha-Nanded via Yavatmal,350-km Manmad-Indore via Malegaon and 49-km Vadsa Desaiganj-Armori-Gadchiroli routes.

It has also brought in a single window system at RTO offices for issuing no-objection certificates to large trailer transportation vehicles within the state and put a week-long timeline for obtaining them from various other agencies.