done...Aurangabad: If all goes as per plans, Aurangabad will have city buses by early December.A high-level meeting regarding implementation of the smart city mission discussed the progress of the purchase of city buses and related logistics among other projects here on Wednesday. The meeting, which was chaired by IAS officer Sunil Porwal, the designated as mentor of the smart city mission, resolved for bringing the city buses on roads in phases from December 1.Deputy mayor Vijay Autade, who attended the meeting, said the private firm from which buses has to be procured has committed to provide one lot 100 buses in batches from December 1. “The firm requires around two months more to send desired number of buses. After discussions and deliberations, December 1 is set as deadline for rolling out public transportation for the city.”The Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited (ASCDCL), the special purpose vehicle formed as a part of the smart city mission, had issued the notice inviting expression of interest for city bus facility during March. While only one bus provider could fulfil the tendering norms, re-bidding took place twice, resulting into the same single player proving to be eligible for the supply of buses.The smart city mission meeting, which took place after a gap of almost 10 months, witnessed Shiv Sena leaders raising doubts over the plans to bring in public transportation, but the civic authorities downplayed their apprehensions.Raju Vaidya, Shiv Sena leader and head of the AMC standing committee, said the logistics issues related to operation of city buses must be addressed first. “We do not have drivers and conductors to run these buses. The administration is of the view that the help of MSRTC will be taken to run the public transportation. For such plans to materialise, the nod from the top brass of the MSRTC has to be taken.” Vaidya also raised doubts over only one private player fulfilling the conditions of the tendering process for purchase of buses.On Wednesday, the ASCDCL appointed three officials, including one joint secretary and one accountant, to ensure smooth execution of the smart city mission. A five-member committee had shortlisted 15 candidates for these three posts and the appointments were made after interviews held on Wednesday. The meeting also decided to give extension to deadline for tenders floated for multi-crore works, including installation of CCTVs and laying fibre optic network in the city.Aurangabad had figured among the cities which have witnessed least utilisation of funds sanctioned towards the smart city mission. Of the Rs 196 crore released to each of around 40 cities, Aurangabad could spent only Rs 85 lakh, which is next to Andaman and Nicobar (Rs 54 lakh) and Ranchi (Rs 35 lakh), as per data released by the Union ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation.The last similar meeting related to the smart city mission was held on November 30 last year. The authorities allegedly have failed to convene the review meeting, resulting into lethargy in the lower rungs.

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