Now Reading: Allahabad HC halts UP’s rural bus service scheme
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Allahabad HC halts UP’s rural bus service scheme
The Allahabad high court has ordered status quo on the implementation of Uttar Pradesh's Mukhyamantri Gramin Parivahan Yojana-2026, which aimed to provide organised public transport to around 59,000 village panchayats. The scheme,…
The Allahabad high court has ordered status quo on the implementation of Uttar Pradesh's Mukhyamantri Gramin Parivahan Yojana-2026, which aimed to provide organised public transport to around 59,000 village panchayats. The scheme, announced in March and aligned with the BJP's 2022 manifesto, involved mini buses of up to 28 seats connecting villages with block, tehsil and district headquarters.
Around 250 buses were already operating under the scheme, and the UP State Road Transport Corporation had shortlisted over 850 applications for expansion. A bus operator holding a valid permit challenged the scheme, arguing it violated Section 99 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as the government did not publish the proposed scheme in the official gazette and newspapers. The court noted that a July 25 communication granting permission to an operator in Muzaffarnagar constituted 'clear permission' under the challenged scheme.
Transport minister Daya Shankar Singh acknowledged legal hurdles but said the government is defending the scheme in court. The existing 250 buses can continue operating, but further expansion remains stalled until the court decides or the government relaunches the scheme addressing the legal concerns.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The challenge rests on a procedural requirement under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which mandates that any state transport scheme be published in the gazette and newspapers before implementation. This case is similar to past legal disputes over state-run transport schemes, such as those in Karnataka and Maharashtra, where courts struck down schemes for skipping the same publication step. The immediate impact is on the 850-plus operators who had applied: their permits and investments are now in limbo. The next signal to watch is whether the UP government reissues the scheme following the correct procedure, which could take months, or pursues the existing challenge in court, where the next hearing date is awaited.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
