PRTC seeks Rs 130 crore pending dues

Tribune News Service

Karam Prakash

Patiala, July 13

Untimely delay by the state government in reimbursement of expenses, pending on account of free travel for women, has financially burdened the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC). The scheme was launched by previous Congress government. The state government has failed to reimburse the money for over six months. Consequently, the financial health of the PRTC has severely been hit. The government is said to have failed to reimburse the outstanding amount of Rs 130 crore since January this year.

As a result, the PRTC every month finds itself in a tight spot to pay its employees their salaries. Thousands of PRTC employees still have not received their salary for the month of June.

Officials of the PRTC said that around 40 per cent of their total daily income — that amounts to Rs 2.15 crore — had to come from women passengers. “Most of the PRTC’s income goes into fuel expenses, salaries and pensions. Any delay in the reimbursement by the state government puts PRTC in a tight spot,” said a senior official of the PRTC.

Notably, the state government, in its recent Budget had allocated around Rs 220 crore for PRTC and Punjab Roadways. The PRTC officials were disappointed over the Budget allocation given the outstanding amount and other expenses of the state transport undertaking PRTC. Currently, the PRTC has a fleet strength of over 1,300 buses.

Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal, convener, PRTC Workers Unions, said, “If the government wants to save the PRTC, they should regularly reimburse the outstanding amount. The problem is old one and the AAP government has also failed to reimburse the corporation for the free women travel.”

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