Rajasthan CM flags off 71 electric buses, launches Rs 3,500 crore projects

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Tuesday inaugurated and laid foundation stones for development works worth around Rs 3,500 crore and flagged off 71 electric buses for seven cities in the state.

The projects cover urban infrastructure, sewerage, traffic management, healthcare, sanitation and waste management.

Of the 71 PM e-buses, 24 for Jaipur and Bhilwara were flagged off from Jaipur, while 47 buses for Alwar, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur were launched virtually.

Speaking at an event at the Harish Chandra Mathur Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration here, Sharma said electric mobility has emerged as an important component of economic growth, energy security and a pollution-free future.

He said the expansion of charging infrastructure and initiatives such as the production-linked incentive scheme for the automobile industry and PM e-Drive were strengthening the electric vehicle ecosystem.

During the programme, more than Rs 154 crore in financial assistance under various Labour Department schemes was also transferred through direct benefit transfer to 1,32,421 workers and their dependents.

Among the projects inaugurated were a 128-slice CT scan machine and a 1.5 Tesla MRI machine at Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, a postgraduate hostel there, the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences under the Ayushman Tower at Sawai Man Singh Hospital and a new In-Patient Department tower at the Zanana Hospital in Chandpole.

A 300-capacity women’s hostel built at a cost of over Rs 12 crore at the Rajasthan Police Academy and 506 toilets, including 395 pink toilets, constructed for more than Rs 109 crore in urban local bodies were also inaugurated.

The projects for which foundation stones were laid included 76 waste-management works worth over Rs 625 crore and sewerage works worth more than Rs 465 crore under AMRUT 2.0 in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation area.

Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa, Urban Development and Local Self Government Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra and other ministers and public representatives attended the programme.