logo
Andhra: SLSC to oversee 750 e-bus proposal

Andhra: SLSC to oversee 750 e-bus proposal

VIJAYAWADA: The State government on Thursday constituted a State Level Steering Committee (SLSC) to oversee the submission of proposals to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for procuring 750 electric buses under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme.
These e-buses, sanctioned by MoHUA, will be deployed across 11 cities in the State.
As per the scheme's guidelines, each participating state must form an State Level Steering Committee headed by the Chief Secretary to review and forward proposals to the Centre for approval.
Following a detailed study of the scheme and practices followed by other states like Punjab and Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh formed the committee.
The State Level Steering Committee will be chaired by the Chief Secretary, with members including the Special Chief Secretary (Energy), Principal Secretaries of Transport, Roads and Buildings, Finance, and MAUD, Secretary (Industries and Commerce), and the Commissioner of the Public Transport Department.
The State government finalised M/s Pinnacle Mobility Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Pune, along with discovered Gross Cost Contract (GCC) prices, as the selected agency for supplying the buses.
As per the Government Order, the proposal for the e-bus procurement will be submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs through the newly formed SLSC.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

LTIMindtree launches GCC-as-a-Service; to cater to firms that want to set up GCCs
LTIMindtree launches GCC-as-a-Service; to cater to firms that want to set up GCCs

New Indian Express

time13 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

LTIMindtree launches GCC-as-a-Service; to cater to firms that want to set up GCCs

Venu Lambu, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, LTIMindtree, said, "GCCs are becoming strategic centres for industry-specific transformation and efficiency. LTIMindtree's GCC-as-a-Service helps enterprises build, scale, and evolve their GCCs into global innovation hubs, leveraging our BlueVerse ecosystem to drive next-gen capabilities and gain a competitive edge with scalable, responsible AI." LTIMindtree' s GCC-as-a-Service includes support for setting up entities, ensuring legal and compliance readiness, and building infrastructure in major global cities. Services include operational enablement for finance, accounting, tax, workspace setup, and IT. Apart from this, the company will provide services including transition management, program governance, delivery excellence, and knowledge management. Anand Chandramouli is the head – Global Capability Center Solutions. Many IT companies are now focusing on GCCs as it is projected to reach a market size of $110 billion by 2030. Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services, recently said that these centers have become critical nodes for organisations seeking agility, cost efficiency, and access to a vast talent pool. Infosys recently conducted its Annual General Meeting and chairman Nandan Nilekani said both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are new ways of growth. "The current wave of GCC is not about cost arbitrage, it's about innovation arbitrage. Quite a few companies are setting up research centres, AI/Machine Learning centres, GCCs, and we're helping many of them in this regard. This means that GCCs are no longer our competitors, they're critical clients for us," he had said.

Chennai corporation to impose Rs five lakh fine for letting sewage into stormwater drain
Chennai corporation to impose Rs five lakh fine for letting sewage into stormwater drain

New Indian Express

time20 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

Chennai corporation to impose Rs five lakh fine for letting sewage into stormwater drain

CHENNAI: The corporation council adopted a resolution on Monday increasing the penalty for illegal sewage connections to stormwater drains or for discharging sewage waste onto the streets to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh, depending on the type of the building. The maximum penalty was earlier Rs 2 lakh. Following a direction from the Madras High Court to implement penalties for illegal sewage connections into stormwater drains in 2017, the GCC had fixed penalties at Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for ordinary buildings, Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 for ordinary commercial buildings, and Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for multi-storey buildings. The corporation has now proposed to increase this as Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 for ordinary buildings, Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh for ordinary commercial buildings, and Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for multi-storey buildings. This is as per Section 161 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act 1998, said the resolution, which prohibits any individual from discharging refuse, trade effluents or waste into water sources or drains maintained by the municipal corporations. As part of the civic body's initiatives to eliminate manual desilting of stormwater drains, the council also adopted a resolution to hire a private contractor, M/s Sai Tube Well company, to clean the stormwater drains across the city using machines having a suction capacity of 4,000 m3/hour. The firm will also be responsible henceforth to transport the silt collected every 25 km to the dump yards using dumpers. In addition, three vehicle-mounted high-capacity suction-cum-jetting machines with a recylcing facility will be procured by the corporation at a cost of Rs 13.95 crore to be deployed in each of the three regions of the city corporation for cleaning silt catch pits in SWDs. During the question hour, Ward 97 Councillor Latha raised concerns over tenders being awarded to the same private contractor for work across the city, stating that it was resulting in delayed progress of work, especially desilting of stormwater drains. She urged the civic body to issue tenders to other contractors ward-wise to ensure that the work is completed on time and every qualified contractor from all classes received equal opportunity.

North Chennai residents, experts to propose alternatives to waste-to-energy plant in Kodungaiyur
North Chennai residents, experts to propose alternatives to waste-to-energy plant in Kodungaiyur

The Hindu

time20 hours ago

  • The Hindu

North Chennai residents, experts to propose alternatives to waste-to-energy plant in Kodungaiyur

As the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) advances the ₹1,268.38 crore Integrated Solid Waste Processing Facility (IWPF) in Kodungaiyur, residents of North Chennai have roped in experts to propose alternatives to the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant planned for the area. Residents, under the aegis of the Federation of North Chennai Residents' Welfare Associations, have opposed the project since its proposal. T.K. Shanmugam, president of the federation, stated that during a recent meeting with Chennai Mayor R. Priya, she said the project could not be scrapped. 'She asked us to propose alternative plans and mentioned that, if a suitable and less invasive plan is developed in consultation with experts, it could be considered,' he said. Alternative proposal D.K. Chythenyen of the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has confirmed that the CFA is preparing a proposal for an alternative. He noted that a study is being drafted in consultation with experts who have worked with the Kerala government on decentralised waste management. The alternative model under preparation includes zero-waste strategies, such as biomethanation and enhanced public participation in waste segregation. The first draft is currently under preparation. According to another expert involved in developing alternative proposals, cities that work in partnership with communities are implementing cost-effective methods, biomethanation, composting, recycling, and proven combinations of less-invasive approaches that function effectively upto the Panchayat level. For example, in the Philippines, 90% of waste is reportedly managed through recycling and composting, with only 10% sent to landfills. These systems employ significant manpower, thereby generating local employment. Similar decentralised models have also been documented in India, the expert added. Gaps flagged in Delhi incinerator Earlier, the CFA had authored a related study on WtE operations in Delhi. It had said Delhi currently operates four WtE plants, located at Okhla, Ghazipur, Bawana, and Tehkhand. These facilities incinerate a total of 7,250 ton of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day, amounting to 66% of the city's daily waste. By 2027, authorities plan to increase WtE capacity to handle 14,250 ton per day, it had stated. According to this study, the combustion process in WtEs releases residual heat into the environment through multiple pathways, including flue gas, hot bottom ash, condensers, and storage pits. Each ton of incinerated waste produces around 5,500 cubic metres of flue gas at 200°C. Collectively, the four plants emit an estimated 3,98,75,000 cubic metres of flue gas and 12,325 ton of CO₂ daily. The report also noted that, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in April 2025, regular monitoring of WtEs had not occurred between 2020 and 2024, with sampling outsourced and infrequent. Opposition continues In a letter dated June 23, 2025, to the GCC, the Federation of Residents Welfare Associations stated that the current dump yard at Kodungaiyur is situated within an 'Institutional Use Zone', as defined in the Second Master Plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area, 2026. Referring to Development Regulation No. 19, the association noted that the dumping and storage of waste in this zone is a prohibited activity and urged for the immediate removal of the dump yard. The letter further highlighted that continued operations at the site have resulted in 'severe respiratory, cancerous and innumerable irretrievable diseases' among the local population, composed largely of wage-earners and those living below the poverty line. 'No plans to scrap project' A senior official from the GCC's Solid Waste Management Department, meanwhile, confirmed that there were no plans to scrap the WtE project. The GCC recently floated a tender worth ₹8.53 crore for the appointment of an independent engineer to oversee the project's implementation, including infrastructure development at the dump yard. The IWPF project is expected to come up adjacent to the Kodungaiyur dump yard, and comprises a WtE power plant, an automated material recovery facility (MRF), a composting unit, and a bio-CNG plant. The WtE and MRF units account for ₹1,026.41 crore of the total cost, while ₹142.97 crore and ₹99 crore have been allocated for the composting and bio-CNG facilities, respectively. The capital outlay for Phase I stands at ₹853.20 crore, with Phase II projected at ₹415.18 crore. Processed waste will be treated at the site, with residual matter transported to a designated sanitary landfill.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store