BPL families to get free bus rides in UP

Lucknow: With 2019 Lok Sabha elections less than a year ahead, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh could go for a major sop for the poor, providing them with free government bus rides.The state transport department has drafted a proposal for providing free bus travel for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, which has been sent for approval to the government.

Officials confirming about the proposal here on Monday said that now, the ball is in the court of the government.As per the proposal, there are around 10 million BPL families in the state and to provide them free bus rides, the department would require Rs 2,990 per family to meet the expenses. The total revenue burden of the transport department could be around Rs 3,000 crore annually, to implement the scheme. 

The draft says that once the proposal is accepted, the department will issue smart card to the families and they can travel free on government buses."Besides free travel , the BPL family will also get accidental insurance coverage of Rs 10 lakhs per family, including Rs five lakhs in case of death," the proposal states.The transport department has also suggested that departments like Panchayati Raj, rural development, agriculture and health can bear the cost to implement the scheme.

The official said that if the scheme is implemented, it will provide security to the girls and women of the rural area, who use private transport for cheaper fare, which will lead to apprehension of their harassment.Meanwhile, the state transport department has fixed a target to connect all 1.07 lakh villages of the state with bus services in the next five years time.Presently, the department is running buses connecting 58,000 villages, covering 18,000 km in the state. (UNI)