Karnataka has begun planning 1,000 rural bus shelters under the VB-G RAM G employment guarantee scheme after reports that passengers in several villages are forced to wait in the sun and rain despite the availability of state bus services. Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed officials to prepare a detailed proposal within 15 days.
In a written communication to the department secretary and the VB-G RAM G commissioner, Khandre asked officials to identify 1,000 villages with high passenger footfall. The proposed shelters are to be designed in a way that reflects the rural character and local heritage of the areas where they are built, according to a release issued by the minister’s office.
Officials have also been asked to estimate the material and wage costs involved in constructing the shelters under the scheme. The proposal will cover both the construction of new facilities and the maintenance of existing bus shelters, the release said.
The initiative follows reports from villages across Karnataka that passengers often lack basic protection while waiting for buses. The state has 5,927 gram panchayats, and the reports cited by the minister’s office indicated that several villages either do not have bus shelters or have facilities in poor condition.
Some existing shelters were reported to be dilapidated and close to collapse. The proposed assessment of villages with high passenger footfall is intended to help officials identify locations where new facilities would have the greatest immediate use. The plan, however, will first have to be finalised through the detailed proposal requested by the minister.
The use of the VB-G RAM G scheme links the bus shelter programme to both rural infrastructure provision and employment generation. The scheme permits construction of new bus shelters as well as the upkeep of existing ones, while also providing work opportunities for unskilled workers.
The proposed shelters would serve passengers using Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation services in villages where waiting areas are currently absent or inadequate. The next formal step is the submission of the costed and location-based proposal by officials within 15 days, after which the government will have to consider the plan’s implementation.
