Bhopal, Dec 3 (IANS): The Madhya Pradesh government was all set to re-introduce the 'Gramin Parivahan Seva' to provide last-mile connectivity to rural parts from district headquarters across the state.

Upon receiving in-principal approval from the cabinet, a detailed study was conducted to prepare the plan.

Apart from the Transport Department, Finance, the Public Works Department (PWD) and Rural Development were jointly preparing a complete blueprint.

On Monday, Chief Secretary Anurag Jain reviewed the preparation and issued necessary directions.

During the review meeting, Jain instructed officials to keep their reports ready for presentation before Chief Minister Mohan Yadav soon, a senior official associated with the Transport Department told IANS.

After CM Mohan Yadav approves the project in the coming review meeting, it will be brought before the cabinet for approval by the end of this month, the official said, adding that the state government was determined to restart 'Gramin Parivahan Sewa' as soon as possible.

It's been over two decades since the Madhya Pradesh State Transport Corporation was dismantled in 2005, during the tenure of former CM Babulal Gaur.

Since then public bus service has been off-road and private players have been operating buses.

In Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal and Indore were the only cities with bus services in the urban areas, but beyond the city limit, the 8.77 crore population was dependent on private operators that ply on selected routes.

Initially, a proposal to re-start 'Gramin Parivahan Sewa' was made during the last tenure (March 2020 to Dec 2023), however, it could not be done due to various reasons, including the unavailability of adequate funds.

However, the new BJP government led by CM Yadav has decided to re-start public buses.