After failing to meet the deadline, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is set to receive only 10 electric buses from PMI Electro Mobility Options, an electric bus manufacturer based in Haryana, this week. Despite the company's commitment to deliver 44 buses by October of the previous year, it fell short and provided only 10. Even with the upcoming delivery of an additional 10 buses, the total count will only reach 20, a significant shortfall from the agreed-upon 144.

The prolonged delays in electric bus deliveries raise concerns about the broader implications for the city's plans to transition to sustainable and efficient public transportation. Suresh Bagle, Deputy Municipal Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner confirmed that the NMC received communication from the company stating that 10 electric buses started their journey to Nagpur on Sunday from the Gurugram plant near Delhi. However, the buses' location remained untraceable on Monday, with clarity expected only on Tuesday. Bagle anticipates the buses will reach the city later this week.

Bagle also expressed his intention to issue a notice to PMI Electro Mobility Options to recover the fines specified in the contract. The contract includes a penalty of Rs 12,000 per day for the company if they miss the deadline for delivering the air-conditioned electric buses. The agreement empowers NMC officials to collect this penalty, amounting to 0.1 per cent of the bank guarantee of Rs 12 crore, for each day of delay. In 2022, NMC signed a contract mandating the delivery of 144 air-conditioned electric buses, with Rs 72 crore allocated under the 15th Finance Commission. Beyond bus delivery, PMI is committed to constructing a mother charging station in Wathoda, a project currently in its final phase.

To date, the company has only delivered 10 air-conditioned electric buses to the NMC, integrated into the Aapli bus fleet, which comprises a total of 450 buses, including 96 electric buses, operating on 191 routes. According to the agreement, PMI was expected to deliver 14 buses in August, followed by 10 in September. Subsequent phases included the delivery of 20 buses in October, 30 in November, and the final tranche of 60 buses in December of the previous year. The Aapli Bus service, operating on 191 routes, sees an average daily ridership of around 1.45 lakh passengers, with a per-day average income from operations of approximately Rs 25 lakh on weekdays.