Anbumani criticises T.N. Transport Dept.’s proposal to operate private buses on contract basis during Deepavali

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday (October 22, 2024) urged the State government to drop the Transport Department’s proposal to hire and operate private buses on a contractual basis during the Deepavali festival, expressing concern that it would lead to privatisation.

In a statement, he said the State government had announced last month that it would operate private buses on a contractual basis during festivals to cater to the needs of commuters. “Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar had recently announced that the Department would operate private buses by hiring them at ₹51.25 per kilometre on a rental basis for the Deepavali festival. Operating private buses on behalf of the State government under the guise of people’s convenience cannot be allowed,” Mr. Anbumani said.

“Though the State government had said it would operate only a limited number of private buses, the reasons given by it are false. The private buses will be operated on a Gross Cost Contract basis. Initially, this system will be implemented only on additional buses. But in the future, it is likely that when there is a need to replace old buses operated by transport corporations, they will be replaced by private buses without purchasing new buses,” he alleged.

He further said: “Lack of buses has been created only to impose private buses onto transport corporations. After the DMK came to power, it ordered 8,182 buses but procured only 1,088 buses. Why is there a delay in purchasing new buses?”

“If the State government has any real intention to develop the transport corporations, it should allocate sufficient funds to purchase buses and recruit drivers and conductors,” he said.