Bhopal: A cabinet meeting was held in the ministry on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav. The cabinet approved the launch of “Mukhyamantri Sugam Parivahan Seva” to provide organized, convenient and safe passenger transport bus services on ordinary and rural routes of cities and rural areas in Madhya Pradesh. Passenger buses will be run according to a systematic planning by determining the traffic and route service and frequency of buses on rural and ordinary routes in the state. The cabinet has decided to provide easy, safe and regulated passenger transport facility in Madhya Pradesh state through the private sector.
Approval was given for Rs 101 crore 20 lakh as equity capital to start passenger transport service. For this, approval has also been given to form a state level holding company. At present, SPVs have been formed under the Company Act for public transport in 20 cities of Madhya Pradesh, out of which 16 are operational. All the above companies will be merged into 7 divisional companies. A holding company will be formed at the state level under the Companies Act 2013 for integrated control of the above seven companies. Along with this, approval was given for discharging responsibilities under the three-tier structure and investing 51 percent shares of the state level holding company in seven regional subsidiary companies on majority basis and necessary amendments in the board and articles of association of seven subsidiary companies, closing the current existing company for Rewa and Gwalior and forming a new regional company. Approval was given to form these regional subsidiary companies by amending the existing company of city bus transport located in the respective divisional headquarters. Approval was also given for the formation of district level passenger transport committee.
In-principle approval was given to make necessary amendments and desired provisions in the rules of M.P. Motor Vehicle Rules 1994. For this, the administrative department will take separate action as per law. The movable and immovable assets being used by the relevant previous city transport companies of the seven subsidiary companies for discharging transport related responsibilities will remain under the control of these companies. Similarly, the bus terminals, bus stands, bus stops etc. built by Nagar Nigam, Authority etc. from their own funds will be developed for excellent quality and passenger convenience in coordination with the holding company.
The new subsidiary companies will continue to use the office buildings of the existing city bus companies. Such immovable assets of the office, which are acquired or constructed from the urban body fund, will be evaluated separately and the amount will be reimbursed by the Transport Department. The newly formed state level company will be included as a supervisory agency by the Urban Development and Housing Department under the Re-densification Policy 2022.
Under the bus transport infrastructure for the operation of “Mukhyamantri Sugam Parivahan Seva”, facilities for passengers and bus operators will be built with excellent quality and standards through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) process. Through the PPP mode for bus operation and maintenance, private bus operators will be regulated through an efficient IT platform in an organized and transparent process. By installing IT technology solutions, all bus operations will be effectively monitored. Under this, effective control will be maintained on service level agreement and key performance indicators, so that bus operations can be convenient and safe for passengers.
The holding company will set up an efficient IT platform and contract private bus operators on it as per the notified routes. The holding company will mainly operate convenient apps and MIS/dashboard etc. for passengers and contracted operators through the IT platform and will also ensure the operation of control and command center for monitoring the state and regional subsidiary companies. Providing multi-modal transport for last mile connectivity of passengers, building infrastructure of excellent quality and standards and effective control over day-to-day bus operations will also be the major responsibilities of this newly formed company.
The liabilities of the holding company will be as follows
(1) Origin and Destination (OD) survey and marking of bus routes in ordinary and rural routes in the entire state division wise, so that maximum number of routes become financially feasible for the operators. Also marking of such routes which are not financially feasible for the operators.
(2) To render necessary assistance to the Government in preparing division-wise scheme for passenger transport service under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act by determining the frequency of buses after route survey.
(3) To issue permits on routes to contracted operators selected through tender process by the Government.
(4) To operate an efficient IT platform by establishing control and command centres at the offices of the State undertaking and the offices of the regional company.
(5) Through IT technology solution, e-tickets for passengers, mobile app through which tracking of buses, occupancy and journey planning will be possible. Along with this, cashless, tap on-tap off facility for passengers, passenger information system through app etc. will be made available. Along with this, operator app, video audit software (for the number of passengers in buses at any time), field audit app, MIS/dashboard facility (with reports), training of operator staff will be provided for contracted operators. Along with this, control and command center software for state and regional subsidiary companies, facility of a booking platform for bus/auto/taxi/metro (Open Network for Digital Commerce Platform), online passenger booking facility, passenger help desk, operation dashboard in state/division offices, training of staff etc. will be made available. Apart from this, a travel app should be developed to provide last mile connectivity and multi-modal transport to the passengers, which should include bus, auto, taxi, e-scooter, metro etc. Passenger information system can also be set up at bus stands and passenger buses on real time basis. This information will be provided directly to the passengers on mobile through mobile application.
(6) Formulating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) & policies for various activities for the regional subsidiary and providing necessary guidance in day to day operations etc.
(7) The contracted bus operators will be provided with necessary infrastructure such as depots, bus stands, bus stops, booking centers etc. In urban areas, the development/construction work of bus depots, bus stands, bus stops will be done by the Urban Development and Housing Department and transferred to the holding company for maintenance and operation. The company will also be able to work to strengthen the transport infrastructure in the state under the Re-densification Scheme.
(8) The operators shall be provided necessary support and security for smooth operation of the buses.
(9) Capacity building and training centres will be set up at the regional level. This will include training of private, government and semi-government staff.
(10) Environment friendly activities like setup of e-buses, electric charging etc. will be promoted simultaneously.
(11) By interacting with various stakeholders such as bus operators, general public etc., this IT platform will also be facilitated to bring other Intermediate Para Transit (IPT) Operators and other non-contracted private bus operators on a single IT platform in an aggregator role.
(12) The bus operation system will be strengthened by taking advantage of green funding and Central / State Government schemes.
(13) The Company shall maintain the available immovable properties in the State and acquire new properties as per requirement and use these for transport services and revenue income.
After the formation of the holding company, if the shares of this holding company are acquired on majority basis in the companies of the above mentioned seven divisional headquarters, then these seven companies will come under the category of subsidiary companies of this state level company. Through these companies present at Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Sagar, Rewa divisional headquarters, passenger bus transport service will be operated in their area of operation. The responsibilities of the regional subsidiary companies will be basically as per the state level company and these subsidiary companies will work under the daily bus operations, revenue income and instructions of the holding company.
The coordinator of the district level committee will be the district collector and this committee will include the MP of the district, all MLAs, Mayor/Chairman Nagar Palika, District Panchayat Chairman, Commissioner Municipal Corporation, Chief Executive Officer of District Panchayat, all Chief Executive Officers Janpad Panchayat, all Chief Municipal Officers Nagar Palika/Nagar Parishad, Executive Engineer Public Works Department, District Project Officer District Urban Development Agency and Executive Engineer, Rural Mechanical Services. The responsibility of the committee will include effective monitoring of the operation of buses being run by the division level passenger transport company on ordinary and rural routes, route length or amendment in the route, stoppages, bus frequency, smooth operation of IT platform, suggestions regarding construction of bus stops, charging stations on ordinary and rural routes, along with necessary coordination between the bus operators of the district.
Decision to revise various allowances payable to government servants
The cabinet approved the revision of various allowances presently payable to the government servants of the state government. As a result of the revision of various allowances presently payable to the government servants, the state government will have to bear an additional annual expenditure of about Rs 1500 crore. House rent allowance will be provided to government servants on the basis of basic salary payable in the seventh pay scale at the rate of 10% for A category cities, 7% for B category cities, 5% for C and D category cities.
Daily allowance, conveyance allowance, meal allowance, eligibility for accommodation, local transport during travel outside the state, transportation of household goods on transfer and transfer grant, permanent travel allowance will be increased on the basis of price index. Along with this, double allowance for additional work, non-professional allowance given to eligible doctors and medical teachers of the state government, secretariat allowance and special allowance for ministerial officers have been approved. Along with this, the ex-gratia grant payable to the family on the death of government servants will be given upto a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh 25 thousand on the basis of 2.57 multiplier of the currently prescribed eligibility.
Government servants posted in the Directorate of Financial Management Information System and the State Reception Officer’s Office operating in the Ministry building will also be given ministry allowance equivalent to equivalent officers in the ministry.
Chhatarpur Mata Bamberbaini ancient temple site declared sacred area
The cabinet decided to declare the Mata Bamberbaini ancient site temple Khasra No. 2157 area 0.012 hectare and Khasra No. 2158 area 30.375 hectare hill area in Lavkushnagar village of Chhatarpur district as sacred area.
