New Delhi July 11 (IANS) In a major move to fight air pollution in Delhi the city government on Wednesday approved the hiring of a consultant to run 1 000 electric buses estimated to cost Rs 2 500 crore in the national capital as promised in its 2018-19 Budget.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the development on Twitter after the move was cleared at a cabinet meeting.
"Cabinet approves hiring of consultant to run 1 000 electric buses in Delhi. A big step in modernizing Delhi s transport sector and reducing pollution " Kejriwal said.
Earlier this month the Delhi government had informed the Supreme Court that each vehicle would cost around Rs 2.5 crore.
The Delhi Assembly had passed the 2018-19 "green" budget with a focus on fighting pollution by commissioning 1 000 electric buses and providing subsidies for switching to non-polluting fuel.
As per a 1998 order of the Supreme Court Delhi should have a fleet of 10 000 buses for public transport but currently it has only 5 815 buses.

--IANS nks/mag/sed