Construction Mirror Article detail

After facing an eight-month delay, 280 mini electric buses under the ‘mohalla’ service are now ready to hit the roads in Delhi. The delay stemmed from the absence of indigenous compliance certificates, according to officials from the transport department, as reported by the Indian Express.

Originally introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, the mohalla bus initiative aims to improve last-mile connectivity in densely populated localities where standard Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses struggle to operate due to narrow roads and limited access.

Now under the BJP-led administration, the project is finally set to launch. A senior transport official stated that the bus manufacturers were required to submit indigenous compliance certificates to confirm that the buses were built using components made in India, in line with the ‘Make in India’ policy. However, the absence of these certificates delayed the project’s progress.

“Some companies have now submitted the required certificates for a portion of the buses and provided affidavits promising to submit the remaining ones within six months,” the official said.

Trial runs for these mohalla buses have already begun on several routes in East Delhi, such as from Pradhan Enclave to Majlis Park Metro Station and from Akshardham Metro Station to the Mayur Vihar Phase III paper market.

Earlier in August last year, the AAP government launched two trial routes in South Delhi, operating between Kailash Colony Metro Station and PNB Geetanjali, as well as from Lok Kalyan Marg Metro Station to Vasant Vihar. To further boost public transport in the city, the Transport Department had also floated tenders for 1,900 12-meter-long e-buses and 1,040 9-meter-long mini e-buses. While many of the 1,900 standard e-buses have already been inducted, around 400 are still awaited. Meanwhile, the 280 mini e-buses received will soon be pressed into service under the mohalla bus initiative.