Punjab Roadways reels under losses
Monday, 15/10/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121015/punjab.htm#14
Ropar : Even as the state government has increased bus fares by around 20 per cent, there is hardly any initiative to cut costs as far as the loss-making Punjab Roadways and Punbus are concerned.
While Punjab Roadways with its fleet of 1,800 buses suffered a loss of Rs 90.51 crore during the first quarter of the current fiscal, its other public transport arm Punbus has registered a profit of Rs 30 crore in the same period.
After an increase in the fare, commuters will have to shell out 79 paise for every kilometre against the earlier fare of 66 paise per km.
Information obtained through an RTI application by local lawyer Paramjeet Singh Pamma revealed the state transport had been facing a huge revenue deficit for the last many years. The Punjab Roadways earned a meagre Rs 40.69 crore in 2009-10 against its expenditure of Rs 218 crore. The salary bill accounted for Rs 88.35 crore while the remaining Rs 130 crore was spent on the maintenance of buses. The losses mounted further in 2010-11 when the total expenditure, including the salary bill of Rs 184 crore, touched to as high as Rs 341.37 crore. The total income to the roadways, however, increased nominally to Rs 66.12 crore.
In 2011-12, the income of the state roadways increased to Rs 111 crore. But high expenditure tilted the balance sheet towards the negative side. The department spent Rs 230 crore on the maintenance of its fleet and Rs 150 crore on payment of salaries.
Same query yields different replies
Aberrations were found in two replies provided by the department regarding its income during 2009-10 and 2010-11. A reply furnished on September 16, 2011 mentioned that the total income for 2009-10 remained Rs 113.21 crore. The other reply on a separate application mentioned that the income of the department during this period was Rs 40.69 crore. Similarly, the Roadways claimed in the first reply that its total income in 2010-11 was Rs 150 crore. While answering the other application filed this year, the department pegged its income at Rs 66.12 crore.
Revenue deficit widening Year Revenue Expenditure
2009-10 Rs 40.69 crore Rs 218 crore
2010-11 Rs 66.12 crore Rs 341.37 crore
2011-12 Rs 111 crore Rs 380 crore
