LUCKNOW The UP government’s much publicised Mukhyamantri Gramin Parivahan Yojana-2026 aimed at taking organised public transport to all around 59,000 village panchayats across the state has hit a legal roadblock with the Allahabad high court ordering status quo on implementation of the scheme.
These operators, the official added, were also not always honouring passes or free travel facilities extended to eligible categories of passengers, making it difficult to achieve the broader public service objective of the scheme. Announced in March, the service was in line with the BJP’s Sankalp Patra (manifesto) released before 2022 Assembly polls. Under the scheme, mini buses of up to 28 seats operate on routes connecting villages with block, tehsil and district headquarters.
Because they tend to operate on routes and terms that helped minimise losses or maximise profits, a senior UPSRTC official said private operators were not necessarily fulfilling the scheme’s objective of connecting villages. Because of the specified design and technical requirements prescribed for the mini buses, officials said procurement itself had emerged as a major issue.
“Most of these mini buses deployed for the specific purpose are not connecting villages by bypassing mandatory night halts at villages only to avoid possible losses,” the official said.
“Some legal hurdles have come in the way of the new scheme. The immediate implication of the high court’s order is that the existing fleet of around 250 buses can continue to operate under the present status quo, but further expansion of the scheme will remain stalled until the court decides the matter or government relaunches the scheme addressing legal concerns raised in the court, according to officials.
Transport minister (independent charge) Daya Shankar Singh acknowledged that the service had encountered legal hurdles, but said the government was defending it before the court. The government is putting forward its legal side to defend the scheme during hearings in the court,” Singh said.
