New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) The Delhi Cabinet today approved a proposal to procure 2,000 buses, including 1,000 for the state-run DTC, to strengthen public transportation in the national capital.

These non-AC, standard-floor buses will be rolled out within a year, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Gahlot told reporters that the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) would be responsible for maintaining its new fleet. Earlier, DTC buses were being maintained by the company supplying the vehicles.

"As per the decision, government would procure a total of 2,000 buses, which includes 1,000 DTC and 1,000 cluster buses. All these buses would be standard-floor buses. In next eight months, cluster buses will start operating. DTCs new fleet will come in one year," Gahlot told a press conference here.

The transport minister also dismissed reports that the DTC would be shut down due to shortage of buses.

"After almost four years, DTC will get new buses and in view of this, it is a historic decision (to procure new buses)," Gahlot tweeted.

"...Delhi cabinet approves procurement of 2,000 buses (1,000 DTC & 1,000 cluster). DTC to maintain its own fleet now," he said in another tweet.

Several bus manufacturing companies had not been showing interest in DTCs tenders, floated several times in the past for the procurement of new buses, due to the maintainance costs.

The DTC has a fleet of 3,944 buses while the DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit System) runs 1,634 buses under the cluster scheme, as per the transport department statistics.

The combined strength of around 5,600 buses covers nearly 75 per cent of the identified routes in the city. A total of 799 mini buses also ply on 124 routes, according to the statistics. PTI VIT BSA