Lucknow, March 10 The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval to the Mukhyamantri Gram Parivahan Yojana-2026, under which bus connectivity will now reach every village across the state.
The cabinet meeting was held on Tuesday at Lok Bhavan under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
UP's Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna informed during a press briefing that a total of 31 proposals were presented in the meeting, out of which 30 were approved by the cabinet, the government said in a statement.
Elaborating on the Mukhyamantri Gram Parivahan Yojana-2026, UP's Transport minister Dayashankar Singh, who was also present at the press briefing, said, "Currently, buses do not reach around 12,200 villages. Under the new policy, buses will reach all 59,163 gram sabhas of Uttar Pradesh. These buses will be exempt from permits and taxes, which will benefit a large rural population of the state."
"Private individuals will be allowed to operate these buses. A committee headed by the District Magistrate will be formed, with the CDO, SP, ARTO, and ARM as members. These buses will halt in the villages at night," Singh said.
This service will benefit students as well as people travelling to courts, offices, or those going to cities to sell their products.
The minister further explained that in many villages, the roads make it difficult for large buses to turn.
He said, "Out of the 12,200 villages currently without bus service, around 5,000 villages cannot accommodate large buses. Therefore, smaller buses will be deployed, with a maximum length of seven metres and a maximum seating capacity of 28 passengers."
He added that these buses will be diverted for other services between 10 am and 4 pm, after which they will return to the villages by 8.00 pm, depending on distance.
"The drivers, conductors, and cleaners will be residents of nearby villages, ensuring convenience in halting overnight and starting early in the morning. The average life of these buses will be 15 years, although operational permission will initially be granted for 10 years," the Transport Minister said.
The transport minister said that the committee chaired by the District Magistrate will determine fares at the local level, and ticket prices will remain affordable.
As the buses will not require permits or taxes, it will benefit operators as well. The government's objective is to provide better transport facilities to the general public.
Under this scheme, each applicant will have the right to operate vehicles on all gram panchayat routes within the block for which they have applied and determine the number of trips accordingly. Bus operators will be required to provide service to each gram panchayat in the block at least twice a day.
For the implementation of the scheme, application screening will be completed within 15 days. After the successful selection of applicants, 15 days will be given to arrange vehicles, and the entire process will be completed within 45 days.
Applications will be examined and selected by the committee chaired by the District Magistrate, which will also finalise routes while selecting service providers.