1,725 AC e-buses for 18 cities; compensation policy for custodial deaths

The UP e-bus plan and custodial death compensation policy: what happened?

Under a gross cost contract, a private operator buys and runs the buses and the government pays a fixed fee for performance. This lets the State add many e-buses without buying them. The same Cabinet also approved a policy on compensation for deaths in jail.

• The UP Cabinet approved running 1,725 AC e-buses (9 m and 12 m) in 18 cities and nearby towns on the gross cost contract model, with 12-year contracts [UP Cabinet].
• It also approved the “UP Bandi Mrityu evam Muavza Bhugtan Niti” for paying compensation to families of prisoners who die unnaturally in jail [UP Cabinet].

How will the e-bus scheme work?

• Cities include Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura-Vrindavan, Meerut, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Noida (Jewar).
• The operator buys buses and chargers, provides drivers and technical staff, and runs and maintains the fleet.
• The operator gets a fixed O&M fee based on set performance standards.
• Municipal corporations and the Noida Authority give depot land free; the government fixes fares.

What is the custodial death compensation policy?

• It covers convicts and undertrials who die an unnatural death in UP jails.
• It follows orders of the Supreme Court, the Allahabad High Court and the NHRC.
• The old system, based on NHRC recommendations, took time; the policy aims at prompt payment to dependants.
• The Cabinet authorised the CM to amend the policy later.

Which constitutional entry covers prisons?

• Seventh Schedule, List II, Entry 4: Prisons, reformatories, Borstal institutions and other institutions of a like nature, and persons detained therein.

What can Prelims ask on the UP e-bus plan and custodial death compensation policy?

• UP e-buses (June 2026): 1,725 AC buses, 18 cities, GCC model, 12-year contract.
• Grant: ₹40 lakh per 12 m bus, ₹35 lakh per 9 m bus.
• Prisons: State List, Entry 4.