Parliament Question: Urban public transport and E-Bus support for Odisha

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2622 ANSWERED ON 16/03/2026 URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND E-BUS SUPPORT FOR ODISHA 2622. SHRI MANAS RANJAN MANGARAJ: Will the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs be pleased to state: (a) the details of financial assistance provided to the State of Odisha for city bus services and electric buses under Central schemes during the last three years; (b) the status of e-bus deployment and charging infrastructure in the State, city-wise; and (c) the steps being taken to expand affordable urban public transport in the State of Odisha? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a): Under PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has sanctioned an amount of ₹88.16 crore for Behind-the Meter Power (BTM) and Civil depot infrastructure (CDI) projects for 400 electric buses in 5 cities of Odisha of which ₹51.24 crore has been released. Ministry of Heavy Industries have informed that under the FAME India Scheme Phase-II, Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), a Special Purpose Vehicle of Government of Odisha was sanctioned 50 electric buses for Bhubaneswar region. The total grant sanctioned for these 50 buses (for creation of capital assets) is ₹22.5 crore. The grant released so far stands at ₹8.10 crore. Of this, ₹3.60 crore has been released in the last three years. (b): Under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, 400 e-buses have been sanctioned to 5 cities namely Berhampur, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Rourkela and Sambalpur. The deployment of e-buses is dependent upon completion of development of Associated Infrastructure (BTM & CDI) which is presently at different stages of completion in 5 cities of Odisha. Therefore, no e-bus has been deployed under the Scheme so far. Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), a Special Purpose Vehicle of Government of Odisha has informed that a total of 340 electric buses is deployed across 6 cities of Odisha. The city-wise detail of buses and charging infrastructure are enclosed as Annexure-I). (c): Urban Transport is a part of Urban planning which is a State subject. Therefore, the respective State Governments are responsible for planning, execution and management of urban transport system including taking measures to expand affordable urban transport. However, Government of India has issued National Urban Transport Policy, 2006, Metro Rail policy 2017, Transit Oriented Development (ToD) policy 2017 and other policy guidelines to facilitate States/UTs/Cities for planning and management of sustainable urban transport system. *****ANNEXURE-I Detail of e-Bus Deployment and charging infrastructure Participating No. of E Buses Charging Infrastructure Details Cities deployed EV Depot: Pokhariput :4(240KW) Gadakana: 9, 4(180KW) +5(240KW) Bhubaneshwar 135 Terminals: Cspur: 4(180KW) Master Canteen: 4(180KW) Cuttack 100 Naraj Depot :14(240KW) Puri 35 Samanga Depot: 2(240KW) + 1(180KW)+ 6(120KW) Rourkela 0 - Sambalpur 25 Ainthapalli: 6(240KW) Berhampur 45 Haladiapadar: 3(240KW) Total 340