IAS officer appointed MSRTC chief days after Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik praises Karnataka bus services

The move comes days after the newly appointed state Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik took charge of the ministry and praised the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for its services and efficiency. Sarnaik’s remarks, made amid his recent visit to the Congress-ruled neighbouring state, have reportedly become a talking point in Maharashtra’s political circles.

During the two-day visit to Karnataka, which began on February 1, Sarnaik met Karnataka’s Transport Minister Dr Ramalinga Reddy along with officials from both states, besides touring the KSRTC headquarters in Bengaluru and observing various premium services, including luxury buses.

He appreciated how KSRTC ran the services safely and more punctually compared to private buses. “The long-distance ‘prestige service’ of the Karnataka state transport service is very popular and is a great example of hospitality management. It is possible to do a similar experiment in Maharashtra too,” the Shiv Sena minister had said while visiting the KSRTC headquarters in Bengaluru.

Speaking about the new appointment, a Sena leader said, “Traditionally the post has been held by a political figure but Sethi, an additional chief secretary-rank officer currently serving as the state’s transport secretary, has now taken over, as per a gazette notification. This clearly seems to be a decision to undermine the Shiv Sena minister.”

This is, however, not the first time an IAS officer has been appointed to the post. In 1991, M K Hamid, another IAS officer, held the position. The role is considered provisional, with no fixed tenure. Sethi succeeds Bharat Gogawale, a Shiv Sena legislator aligned with the Shinde faction, who resigned after being included in the new Cabinet led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Sarnaik had recently urged Fadnavis to appoint a new chairman promptly.

During his Karnataka visit, Sarnaik was shown the facilities on their buses ranging from Wi-Fi to urinals on long-distance services besides being informed of e-ticket and online ticket booking facilities. The minister recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direction to adopt good practices underway in other states and said the initiative was taken up to learn about Karnataka’s famous long-distance services as well as to study their regional transport management, and incentive schemes for employees.

MSRTC operates a fleet of about 14,000 buses, serving around 55 lakh passengers daily, and employs roughly 90,000 people. In recent years, the corporation has faced multiple challenges, including financial losses, an aging fleet, employee strikes, and a decline in ridership. To address some of these issues, it implemented a 14.95 per cent fare increase last month in an attempt to curb daily financial losses.