PUNE, Dec 30: For the third consecutive year, the Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) will incur a deficit, this time to the tune of Rs 5 crores, and will be forced to seek financial assistance from the parent civic body. This became evident on Monday when PMT general manager Pruthviraj Bayas presented a Rs 117.17 crore-deficit budget draft for the financial year 1998-99 before the transport committee. Bayas said it was `mandatory' for the corporation to provide financial assistance to PMT.Admitting that the targeted revenue would fall short of expenses by Rs 5 crore, Bayas announced a plan to phase out old buses by purchasing 125 new buses during the next financial year.
He, however, clarified that the PMT will either have to raise a loan or seek a grant from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to purchase these buses, estimated to cost Rs 12.50 crore.
Former general manager Mahesh Shukla had warned that the PMT was heading for a deficit of Rs 9 crores in the current financial year (1997-98) and had
sought a grant from the PMC. While presenting the revised budget estimates for the current year, Bayas stated that the actual deficit worked out to Rs 9.75 crore.
The PMT earlier managed to cover up the deficit as PMC had then pumped in Rs 14 crore to pull back the public road transport undertaking from the worst-ever financial crisis, Bayas admitted. The PMC had allowed the PMT to draw an overdraft of Rs 5 crore against the PMC deposits of Rs 6 crore for purchasing 50 new buses last year. The elected members had then resolved that there would be no more grants to PMT.
Asked how he anticipated the proposal for purchase of 125 new buses and the fresh demand for monetary assistance of Rs 5 crore to be cleared by the PMC, Bayas referred to section 95 (A) of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act which states that it is mandatory on the part of the corporation to provide financial assistance to keep essential services, including the PMT, running.
During the current year, PMT had hiked bus fares by
a staggering 43 per cent. Asked why the body failed to mop up the funds to cover the deficit, Bayas claimed that the hike was in proportion to the raise in the prices of diesel and spare parts and expenses on establishments. The PMT is currently incurring a loss of Rs 6 lakh per day due to competition from six-seater autorickshaws, he added.
The administration has suggested scrapping of loss-making bus routes. Bayas has ordered that drivers and conductors should not be transferred frequently, so that they can be made responsible for the condition of the buses. With the new buses the PMT fleet will increase from 799 to 849.
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
