Chandigarh November 17:
After former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal locked horns with his own Government on the issue of bus fare increase, Punjab Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal has said that he tried several times to increase the bus fare to check the galloping losses, but the Cabinet always scuttled his moves. This is likely to raise a storm within the ruling SAD-BJP alliance.
“The only way out to check the loss the Transport Department is suffering every month is the upward revision of bus fare. If this is not done, there is no other solution to the problem. The department will continue to bleed. I am helpless in this regard, as the Cabinet has several times turned down my proposals,” said Master Mohan Lal, speaking exclusively to media.
The assertion of Master Mohan Lal, also a senior BJP leader, is in tandem with what former Finance Minister Manpreet was saying among other things to bolster the State’s sagging financial condition before his expulsion. Manpreet had also favoured the levy of taxes on urban residential properties to avail the Centre’s `35,000 crore debt waiver offer.
The Union Government wanted Punjab to increase the bus fare to check `200 crore annual losses being incurred by the Transport Department, which the Shiromani Akali Dal president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal refused to accept, saying that such decisions would alienate the people from the party.
“The Transport Department will suffer losses till the fares of the roadways buses are not increased. I tried to get the bus fare increased in the last Cabinet meeting but that could not be accepted. There is no unanimity among the Government on this issue,” said Lal. He said: “The State roadways and PRTC buses suffer around `60 lakh loss per day. The people of Punjab should understand the fact that without paying money, one cannot avail good facilities. They should pay more if better facilities are to be provided.”
How do you blame the people when the Government was not increasing the bus fare? “This is also true. Sooner or later, the government will have to take a call in this regard. There is no way out. We cannot turn blind eyes to the writings on the wall for long. That would be disastrous for the State, and the people alike in the long term,” added Lal.
The public debt of Punjab is at a staggering high of `70,000 crore, which is not sustainable. To maintain fiscal health, the debt must be reduced by cutting Government borrowing by bringing down expenditure and helping economy to grow so that revenue from taxes grows faster. “If bus fare is rationalised, the problem of fiscal hardships can be addressed to a large extent.
At the same time, there are other areas as well, which we need to look into. However, I would not like to comment on those, as they do not come under the jurisdiction of my areas of works,” said Lal, who does not like to be dragged into any kind of unnecessary controversies. The issue of subsidy was a major bone of contention between Manpreet and the SAD leadership.
Though Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is learnt to have seconded his concerns in private meetings, publicly he did never support him, while Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir justified ‘freebies’ being given to farmers and other poors, something which has wreaked havoc with Punjab’s fiscal condition over the years.
At present, Punjab’s fiscal deficit of net borrowing is 4 per cent of gross State domestic product, which needs to be brought down to 2.5 per cent in five years. As interest payments begin taper off in future as a result of controlled borrowing, the fiscal deficit should be brought down further to two per cent of GSDP in 10 years.
After former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal locked horns with his own Government on the issue of bus fare increase, Punjab Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal has said that he tried several times to increase the bus fare to check the galloping losses, but the Cabinet always scuttled his moves. This is likely to raise a storm within the ruling SAD-BJP alliance.
“The only way out to check the loss the Transport Department is suffering every month is the upward revision of bus fare. If this is not done, there is no other solution to the problem. The department will continue to bleed. I am helpless in this regard, as the Cabinet has several times turned down my proposals,” said Master Mohan Lal, speaking exclusively to media.
The assertion of Master Mohan Lal, also a senior BJP leader, is in tandem with what former Finance Minister Manpreet was saying among other things to bolster the State’s sagging financial condition before his expulsion. Manpreet had also favoured the levy of taxes on urban residential properties to avail the Centre’s `35,000 crore debt waiver offer.
The Union Government wanted Punjab to increase the bus fare to check `200 crore annual losses being incurred by the Transport Department, which the Shiromani Akali Dal president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal refused to accept, saying that such decisions would alienate the people from the party.
“The Transport Department will suffer losses till the fares of the roadways buses are not increased. I tried to get the bus fare increased in the last Cabinet meeting but that could not be accepted. There is no unanimity among the Government on this issue,” said Lal. He said: “The State roadways and PRTC buses suffer around `60 lakh loss per day. The people of Punjab should understand the fact that without paying money, one cannot avail good facilities. They should pay more if better facilities are to be provided.”
How do you blame the people when the Government was not increasing the bus fare? “This is also true. Sooner or later, the government will have to take a call in this regard. There is no way out. We cannot turn blind eyes to the writings on the wall for long. That would be disastrous for the State, and the people alike in the long term,” added Lal.
The public debt of Punjab is at a staggering high of `70,000 crore, which is not sustainable. To maintain fiscal health, the debt must be reduced by cutting Government borrowing by bringing down expenditure and helping economy to grow so that revenue from taxes grows faster. “If bus fare is rationalised, the problem of fiscal hardships can be addressed to a large extent.
At the same time, there are other areas as well, which we need to look into. However, I would not like to comment on those, as they do not come under the jurisdiction of my areas of works,” said Lal, who does not like to be dragged into any kind of unnecessary controversies. The issue of subsidy was a major bone of contention between Manpreet and the SAD leadership.
Though Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is learnt to have seconded his concerns in private meetings, publicly he did never support him, while Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir justified ‘freebies’ being given to farmers and other poors, something which has wreaked havoc with Punjab’s fiscal condition over the years.
At present, Punjab’s fiscal deficit of net borrowing is 4 per cent of gross State domestic product, which needs to be brought down to 2.5 per cent in five years. As interest payments begin taper off in future as a result of controlled borrowing, the fiscal deficit should be brought down further to two per cent of GSDP in 10 years.
