Bhopal, Sep 18 : Madhya Pradesh Transport Minister Uday Pratap Singh said on Wednesday that the government's plan to restart the public transport services, 'Grameen Parivahan Seva' in rural areas, is underway.





The minister said that the government will restart 'Grameen Parivahan Seva' as a pilot project in rural areas, adding that the state government is making all possible efforts to restart 'Parivahan'.



"The process to identify the areas and particular routes has also started. We will first re-start public transport services in rural areas," Singh said while talking to the media person on Wednesday.



The Cabinet has also given approval for the proposal to re-start public transport services earlier in July.



The decision to shut down 'Grameen Parivahan Seva' was taken by the BJP government led by former Chief Minister Late Babulal Gaur in 2005 after the corporation incurred huge losses which had created a huge vacuum in the road transportation network.



However, two decades later, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav decided to restart the service and approval for the proposal was granted to conduct a detailed study involving several other departments.



In the absence of the Rajya Parivahan Buses, the private players swiftly moved into the business and they operated on usual routes, leaving most of the villages and rural areas deprived of any public transportation service.



"Chief Minister Mohan Yadav understands the need for public transport and therefore, steps have been taken. It will also provide basic connectivity to medical facilities and education institutes in rural parts of the state," said Singh who also holds the School Education Minister portfolio.



Apart from the Transport Department, Finance, Public Works Department (PWD) and Rural Development would also be involved in the study.



At present, Bhopal and Indore are the only two cities to have a bus service in the urban areas, but beyond the city limit, the 8.77-odd crore population of the state is dependent on private operators that ply on selected routes.



/IANS