For every kilometre, Haryana Roadways suffers a loss of ₹34

Minister attributes losses to agitations, pandemic among other factors

CHANDIGARH: Every time the wheels of Haryana roadways bus cover a distance of one kilometre, the roadways bears a net loss of Rs 34 as the operational cost for every single kilometre is about Rs 73 while the receipt is only Rs 39, according to official data. Not just this, ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come to power in Haryana after dethroning the Congress in October 2014 assembly elections, the revenue deficit of the Roadways has been on the rise. Case in point: The Roadways revenue deficit in 2022-23 is being estimated to be over Rs 1,000 crore -up from Rs 931 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 447 crore in 2014-15 fiscal. Over the years, there has been a sharp fall in the daily operations of roadways buses, also in terms of kilometres covered and the number of passengers ferried daily. The daily operated kilometres has come down from 13 lakh in 2014-15 to 8.88 lakh per day now. However, in 2021-22, the daily gross distance the roadways buses operated was 6 lakh km and the daily passengers carried daily was over 4 lakh, according to statistical abstract of Haryana. “There are a number of factors, including agitations, behind the roadways suffering losses. In the past, there were situations when we had more buses than the number of drivers and conductors. In 2019-20 the number of conductors on the rolls were more than the number of buses...I have taken steps to stop the slide in revenue losses and plug the possible paths of revenue leakages,” Mool Chand Sharma, transport minister, told Hindustan Times. “Due to the Covid-19 waves, the roadways suffered the most. The farmers’ agitation was yet another setback to the roadways. Whenever there is an agitation, the roadways has to bear the brunt.” He said soon, 1,138 conductors will be recruited via Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (HKRNL) to run the roadways fleet in full capacity. As per the data, in 2021-22 the total receipts of the roadways came down to Rs 1,072 crore against an expenditure of Rs 2,041 crore. Similarly, in 2021-22, the roadways earned Rs 38.56 receipts per km even though the expenditure rose to Rs 73.45 per km. In sharp contrast, the overall receipts of the roadways in 2014-15 stood at Rs 26.89 per km against Rs 37.22 expenditure per km. On the other hand, in 2022-23, the receipts per km improved to Rs 39.23 and the expenditure was also brought down to Rs 72.83 per km. “The exact loss in revenue receipts that the roadways has to bear at present is Rs 33.60 per kilometre. As a result of certain steps taken last year, we contained expenditure and improved revenue receipts per km also,” said the transport minister, adding that the number of people travelling in the roadways buses daily at present is over 5 lakh and the gross total kilometre operated by buses per day is around 8.88 lakh km.

Roadblocks in fare hike

Transport department officials say what also adds to the financial woes of the roadways is the facility of free travel to 42-odd categories. Now, the government has reduced the age limit from 65 to 60 years to avail 50% concession while travelling in roadways buses. A senior transport department official said the chief minister’s office (CMO) has been repeatedly turning down proposals to hike the bus fare. Sources say the health department is also sitting tight over transport department’s request to foot the expenditure of fuel etc for using roadways buses during the Covid-19. It is learnt that a proposal is being prepared to seek refund in lump sum from different departments like social justice, police, public relations etc in lieu of free travel facility to different categories in Haryana roadways. As Haryana was probably the first state to introduce e-ticketing using the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) on a pilot basis in six districts, it is being expanded to other districts. The state government has also proposed to implement a revenue leakage detection system (RLDS) in Haryana roadways through deployment of sensors in buses to count the number of passengers in real-time and detect revenue leakage. Such measures are expected to increase ticketing revenue annually. In fact, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, in his budget speech, had said the state government has also decided to increase the sanctioned fleet strength of Haryana roadways from 4,500 to 5,300 while proposing to add another 1,000 buses in 2023-24 through the kilometre system of which 200 will be mini buses. “These measures are likely to increase ticketing revenue by about Rs 150 crore annually,” Khattar had said. The transport minister said 400 conductors were trained when e-ticketing was started. “The e-ticketing is going to be a game changer as this will plug the leakage of revenue and curb corruption,” said Sharma, adding that to boost the revenue collection, the fleet of roadways buses is being increased.