The decision to go the PPP way for the purchase of the new buses was finalised on May 16 in the presence of Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar.

‘Issue July ‘09-April ‘10 free passes’

The PMP Pravasi Manch has demanded that the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) should issue free passes to students for the period July 2009-April 2010.

It has also demanded that Pune and as well as Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies should provide Rs 15 crore in their annual budgets for this purpose from 2010-11. The PMC this year decided to provide free bus passes for standard V to X students to travel to schools.

The PMP Pravasi Manch office bearer Jugal Rathi has issued a press release stating his demands. He said, “The free passes should be for the period between July and April. The PMC and PCMC should equally share the monetary burden for this scheme. This year, the PMC has made Rs 9 crore available, to which, the PCMC should give an additional amount of Rs 6 crore.” Rathi also alleged that the amount necessary to implement this scheme has been blown out of proportion.

The PMPML on Tuesday sought more time to roll out the plan. However, the Maharasthtra Navnirman Sena has threatened to carry out protests if students are charged for tickets. During the recent standing committee meeting, a committee of corporators including Ravindra Vagaskar, Vijay Deshmukh, Mangala Mantri, Ashok Yenpure and Sunil Bibwe was formed to study the nitty-gritty of the plan.