Hyderabad: Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), ministry of power, will procure electric buses for Telangana and other states such as AP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Kerala. CESL has floated a tender for procuring 3,604 electric buses for clean public transport across 45 tier II and III cities in 17 states in the country.CESL issued the tenders under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme with a target of procuring 10,000 buses in different phases. Under the scheme, Telangana got 151 buses, i.e. Warangal 100 and Nizamabad 51 buses, and AP got 300 buses for Tirupati.In a press release, EESL national representative A Chandrasekhar Reddy on Friday said under the PM E-Drive scheme, about 14,028 buses were ordered, including 2,200 buses in Telangana under Phase I to reduce vehicular pollution.Of the sanctioned 14,028 buses, tenders have already been issued for 13,800 buses, covering major cities and state transport undertakings, including Hyderabad (2,200), Bengaluru (4,500), Mumbai (1,500), Pune (1,000) and Delhi (2,800).Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, chief executive officer (CEO), CESL & EESL, said the target is reducing over five million tonnes of CO2 emissions across major cities and significant improvement in urban air quality and reduction in noise pollution. The idea is to replace thousands of diesel buses with clean electric alternatives. “These initiatives will play a crucial role in reducing India’s carbon footprint, modernising public transport, and delivering a cleaner, quieter and cost-effective mobility ecosystem,” he said.The buses are both AC and non-AC variants, across standard-floor, low-floor and BRT models, ensuring suitability for diverse urban transit needs.
