Lockdown-hit UPSRTC seeks road tax waiver
LUCKNOW : Finding it difficult to pay salaries to its personnel, the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has sought a Rs 45 crore road tax waiver as a relief against the financial losses it suffered due to the ban on bus operations for more than two months because of the lockdown.
It’s already the second week of June but more than 50,000 employees are anxiously waiting for their May salaries.
“This is for the first time when we have not received salaries on the first day of the month and this is a disturbing sign,” UP Rajya Karmchari Sanyukt Parishad vice-president Rakesh Singh said.
As a way out, the UPSRTC management has written a letter to the transport department requesting it to waive off the Rs 45 crore road tax for the months of April and May — the twomonth period when normal bus operations remained closed due to the lockdown.
Transport commissioner Dheeraj Sahu confirmed that the UPSRTC had requested road for tax waiver, which is called additional tax. “Yes, we have received a representation from the UPSRTC requesting tax waiver for the lockdown period. We have forwarded their request to the state government for a decision,” he said.
The UPSRTC already did not pay tax for March. “Minus the March tax, UPSRTC paid Rs 231 crore to the transport department as additional tax in 2019-20,” said another transport department official.
But non-operation of normal services during the lockdown is not the only reason for the mounting financial losses UPSRTC has suffered. According to sources, even emergency services it is providing to ferry migrant workers as well as the normal operations it resumed
from June 1 are all causing losses to the corporation.
“We are being paid Rs 23,000 per bus engaged for migrants and this is the normal fare fixed for a charter bus service. But we are suffering losses because of additional cost we are bearing in terms of sanitizing buses, distributing masks and gloves to the staff and giving Rs 1,000 per bus as diet of conductor and driver every day,” claimed UPSRTC sources.
“The bills of around Rs 200 crore for ferrying migrants in May are still to be cleared by the government, though earlier bills of Rs 90 crore have been cleared and paid,” they added.
What has added to the UPSRTC’s woes is the fact that even the regular operations started from June 1 are proving
to be a loss-making affair for it because of lack of adequate passenger traffic.
“We expected there would be sudden rush of passengers after the lockdown was eased but this did not happen. Consequently, the average bus load factor that used to be above 70% during this season has been reduced to merely around 20-25% causing Rs 5-6 crore losses to the corporation every day,” the sources pointed out.
Rakesh Singh said the UPSRTC rendered crucial services even during the lockdown. “Now, when our salary is at stake, the government must announce some financial package for the corporation so that the department and staff may stay afloat,” he demanded.