Electric buses should not be ruled out 

Kerala is far behind other states in implementing many of the central government's welfare schemes. It is the common people who suffer the losses when schemes are not implemented due to political reasons and controversies. Kerala has not yet implemented the central-state partnership scheme under which those above the age of seventy get insurance of up to Rs. 5 lakh as part of their treatment, but in many other states, those who have joined the scheme are getting the benefit of this. The biggest feature of this scheme is that anyone above the age of seventy can join the scheme without their income being a barrier. It must be noted that losing all this is not in the best interest of the people, regardless of the reason.

Kerala has not yet joined the PM-eBus Sewa (Prime Minister's Electric Bus Service) scheme, under which states get free electric buses, including driver services. The people in power should realise that the loss due to this is not for the Centre, but for Kerala. Such forceful attempts to turn one's back on central schemes will only create a perspective among the people that the party ruling at the centre should come to power in the state to implement central projects. The project to provide 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities in various states was started in 2023 with 3600 buses. The cost of the project is 57,613 crores. There will be a central assistance of Rs 20,000 crores in this project. The rest will have to be borne by the state governments and partners.

The second phase of this project is currently underway. Many other states have already received electric buses as part of this, but Kerala has not received them, as the state is not part of the project. Apart from reducing environmental pollution, states can also save a lot of money on diesel costs by introducing electric buses. When Antony Raju was the Transport Minister, discussions were held with the Central Government, but there was no agreement. Under this project, 950 electric buses were to be provided to ten cities in Kerala. It was decided not to join the project for the time being when K.B. Ganeshkumar became the Minister later.

Now, the centre has purchased another 10,000 buses to provide for the second phase. KSRTC itself has said in a report that it can save Rs 32 crore per month by implementing electric bus services. Therefore, it would not be the right decision to rule out these electric buses. The centre will provide the 56-seater buses, their maintenance costs, and charging stations. The state will only be responsible for the cost of hiring a conductor. Kerala received 100 electric buses operating in Thiruvananthapuram city in the first phase. The state government should take steps to acquire the electric buses that Kerala is entitled to as part of this central project.