650 new buses,Centre to pay

The Centre on Friday sanctioned a grant of Rs 163 crore to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to buy a fleet of 650 buses for the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML). The fleet will comprise 500 buses for Pune and 150 for Pimpri Chinchwad. “For the first time,the Centre has sanctioned grants under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission specifically to buy buses. If the grants are released immediately,we will be able to buy the buses from March,” Pune Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi said.