new delhi to encourage public transport the centre has asked states and union territories to develop one modern bus port modern bus stands equipped with a host of facilities each that can serve as a model for which it will provide viability gap fundingthe development comes at a time when the governments focus is to boost public transport to curb vehicular pollution as well as a spurt in vehicle productionthe ministry of road transport and highways morth in a letter to transport secretaries of the states has asked to ensure setting up of at least one bus port each which can act as a model for subsequent projects by the stateutthe objective hereunder is to develop highquality bus ports in the country with assistance from the morth the development of standardised bus ports complete with requisite infrastructure and facilities will help in improving passenger comfort and give a muchneeded boost to public bus transportation systems the ministry has said in the guidelines sent to statesit said an allied objective was to bring private operators into the mainstream by allowing their entry into bus ports so that all bus passengers can have access to safe boarding and deboarding locations and avail of amenities created in the bus ports such as drinking water food rest areas and washrooms among othersthe guidelines also said the bus port could be developed either as a greenfield or as a brownfield project provided that the location suggested by the participating state is found to be suitable in the feasibility studythe viability gap funding by morth shall remain capped at 40 per cent to align it with dea department of economic affairs guidelines on the subject this will be a uniform ceiling as far as funding is concerned ln other words irrespective of whether the bus port is large medium or small morth funding of the capital cost shall be limited to 40 per cent of the project costto start with at least one project would be taken up in a state so that it becomes a pilot for the state and thereafter the state could replicate the model as per its own decisions the guidelines mentionedit said the states would be selected on the firstcomefirstserve basis and only those states will be selected that commit to provide access to the buses operated by the private operatorsroad transport and highways minister nitin gadkari have earlier said that the country needs to revamp its public transport system and a good policy is needed for this taskto cater to a 22 per cent annual growth in the automobile sector a separate highway lane is required which would cost not less than rs 88000 crore and is unviable the minister saidhe has been stressing that public transport is the need of the hour as it would also curb vehicular pollution