GSRTC gets Rs 120 cr capital infusion

The Gujarat government's decision to infuse Rs 120 crore into the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) for purchasing new buses came as a ray of hope to the cash-strapped state transport corporation, which has been going through a difficult phase due to the hike in prices of diesel and tyres for the last few years.

This decision was announced by the state finance minister Vajubhai Vala, while presenting the Budget estimates for 2005-06.

"The state transport service is an essential one for the people, students and employees. These operations underwent a difficult period due to increase in the prices of various inputs. The government has decided to address the problem by providing an additional financial assistance of Rs 120 crore as capital to the corporation for purchasing new buses, which would also include CNG buses. The state government is working towards making the operations of the corporation more efficient," said Vala.

With the equity infusion of Rs 120 crore, the state transport corporation aims to purchase around 1,500 new buses by the end of the next financial year.

"The government's decision to infuse Rs 120 crore as capital subsidy is a welcome move. With the equity of Rs 120 crore, we are planning to procure over 1,500 new buses in the next one year," G R Aloria, vice-chairman and managing director, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC).

The corporation is also planning to procure few buses to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). Initially, around 10 CNG buses are expected to run between Vadodara and Surat on an experimental basis in a bid to control the rising pollution.

"The experience of the Surat-Vadodara CNG bus service will be extended to the entire state after ensuring that the service is feasible and looking into the possibility of setting up adequate CNG filling stations," said a senior GSRTC official.

With the capital infusion, it seems that there is no move for privatisation of the GSRTC at this stage, although the state government has an open mind for corporatisation of the state transport corporation.

The corporation has recently hiked bus fares by over 9.3 per cent to offset the additional burden of Rs 120 crore due to the recent hike in prices of petrol and diesel. The fare for ordinary buses have been hike to Rs five from Rs three earlier, while the fares for traveling in the express buses have been doubled to Rs 10 from Rs five earlier.

With the increased bus fare, GSRTC would fetch an additional revenue of Rs 55 crore per annum, of which Rs 9.73 crore would be paid towards passenger tax to the transport department.

The state transport corporation has about 9,000 buses, which cover 97.5 per cent areas in the state and it transports over 27 lakh passengers on a daily basis.