SHIMLA: The Sukhu government and Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Transport Minister Mukesh Agnihotri are facing mounting criticism over the alleged concentration of HRTC’s new electric-bus fleet in Haroli constituency and Una district, Agnihotri’s home turf, while ageing and frequently breaking-down “khattara” buses are being pushed into other parts of Himachal Pradesh.
Commuters have accused the Transport Department of regional bias and discriminatory deployment of taxpayer-funded public transport, questioning why one district and one constituency should receive preferential access to the state’s modern electric-bus fleet while passengers elsewhere continue to travel in overcrowded and ageing buses.
The controversy intensified after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that Una would be made a fully electric-bus district, even as commuters in Shimla, Chopal, Solan, Mandi, Kangra and Chamba continue to complain about inadequate services and the deteriorating condition of HRTC buses.
Passengers allege that instead of replacing obsolete buses across the state, the Transport Department is effectively dumping the ageing fleet in districts outside Una, leaving commuters in several regions to bear the consequences of breakdowns, overcrowding and unreliable services.
The sharpest criticism is coming from commuters in the apple belt and hill areas, particularly Chopal, where transport connectivity is crucial and replacement of ageing buses is being sought. Similar concerns have been raised in Solan, Mandi, Kangra and Chamba, where passengers say the need for reliable HRTC services is no less urgent than in Una.
Commuters have questioned the basis on which electric buses are being allocated and demanded that the government make public the criteria used for their deployment. They argue that public transport funded by taxpayers cannot be structured around the interests of a single constituency or district.
The demand is for the new electric fleet to be distributed equitably across all districts according to passenger load, route requirements, terrain, breakdown rates and the condition of the existing fleet.
The controversy has also brought the Transport Department’s broader policy under scrutiny. The Chief Minister has announced that HRTC will receive 1,500 new electric buses, in addition to the 297 e-buses already provided. The proposed buses are to have a minimum range of 350 kilometres and be suitable for Himachal’s difficult terrain.
Commuters say the deployment of this large new fleet provides the government an opportunity to correct the imbalance rather than deepen it.
They have urged the Himachal Pradesh High Court to take suo motu cognisance of what they describe as discriminatory allocation of public transport resources and examine whether the Transport Department is distributing taxpayer-funded buses on transparent and objective criteria.
For commuters, the issue is no longer simply about electric buses. It is about whether the modernisation of HRTC is being undertaken for the entire state or disproportionately for one constituency and one district.
The allegations of regional bias against the Transport Department and the Transport Minister have placed the government under pressure to explain the deployment pattern of the new electric fleet and its policy for replacing ageing buses across Himachal Pradesh.
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