Govt owes ₹79 cr to PRTC for free travel over 4 yrs
DUES UNPAID Of this, previous SADBJP government ran up a bill of ₹54 crore for free and concessional travel to 18 categories
PATIALA : Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), the staterun fund-starved utility that is struggling to pay monthly pensions and meet its expenses, could meet a part of its liabilities at least, if the state government releases Rs 79 crore it owes to it for free travel of its staff and other concessional claims that it has run up over the past four years.
The figure had ballooned to Rs 97 crore in June as the previous SAD-BJP government did not pay a single penny under this head in the last years of its rule.
Earlier this month, the new Congress government released Rs 18 crore, bringing the figure down to Rs 79 crore.
Under the rules, the state government provides free and concessional travel facilities in PRTC buses to 18 categories of beneficiaries.
Police personnel and students are among the major beneficiaries of this facility.
“If the government releases the departmental claims on time, pensions can be released every month,” said Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal, secretary general of the All-India Trade Union Council.
Dhaliw al said the government must clear pending bills in a single payment at the earliest.
PRTC managing director Manjit Singh Narang said, “We have written to the departments concerned to pay their pending dues in instalments. We have also written to the finance department to help us clear the dues.”