India, July 14 -- After eight years without adding a single bus to its fleet, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) undertaking has begun inducting 150 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, with Maharashtra forest minister Ganesh Naik flagging off the first batch at the Ghansoli depot on Saturday evening.

The rollout marks NMMT's biggest fleet expansion in nearly a decade and comes as the city prepares for rising commuter demand amid rapid urbanisation and the upcoming operationalisation of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. Of the 150 buses, 65 have already been delivered, while the remaining 85 are expected shortly. NMMT currently operates a fleet of 416 buses.

The new buses will be deployed mainly on existing high-demand route...