Maharashtra may give tax concession for school bus purchase

MUMBAI: Purchasing school buses in Maharashtra is set to become cheaper with the government considering a proposal to give tax concession to schools for buying buses.

Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said in the Legislative Council that the Home, Transportation and Finance Departments will soon meet to discuss the issue.

To save transport charges several students are put in a single vehicle and such vehicles are also not safe, Patil said in reply to a query during Question Hour.

So the state government may give some concession in the tax over the purchase of vehicles in order to solve the problem of student safety, Patil said, adding many times parents cannot send their child in a safe vehicle, as it is not affordable.

The state is also thinking to restart allocation of non-salary grants for schools so that they can take safety measures for students, he added.

The issue was raised after the January 28 incident in suburban Jogeshwari where a private vehicle carrying students was burnt due to short circuit and three of the children died.

Patil said the accused in the case have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.