With the Railway Minister Pawan Bansal and road transport authorities already hinting about a possible passenger fare hike in railways and road transport, the Left parties have termed as “retrograde” the government decision to charge market rates for bulk users of diesel. CPI(M) has asked the Centre to restore the subsidy on diesel to bulk customers like state transport undertakings and railways in “public interest”.
CPIM General Secretary Prakash Karat has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stating "I urge you to reconsider the decision. You are requested to restore the subsidy on diesel to bulk consumers like the State Transport Undertakings which will be in public interest.”
Karat has argued that this decision would be an unwieldy burden for railways and state transport authorities, with them having to cough up extra Rs 11-12 per litre; hurling them onto a financial crisis.
“There are reports of State Transport Corporations curtailing their services and reducing the routes on which buses ply. Steps are being taken to increase the bus fares. All this is going to badly affect the common people who use public transportation,” Karat said in his letter.
The CPIM General Secretary has highl;ighted that this withdrawal of subsidy for the supply of diesel to bulk consumers would "cripple the public transportation system at a time when the necessity is for strengthening the public transportation system."
Pointing out the escalating environmental costs due to rise in vehicular pollution, Karat said the only way out was to restrict the expansion of private vehicle and strengthen public transport. "Instead of doing that, the government's retrograde decision is a serious blow to public transport and will lead to further privatisation of transport services," Karat said.