Deadlock over phaseout of buses continues

After holding further talks with the bus operators, Gupta said, “The leaders of the bus operators are leading them on down a suicidal path.”

The transport minister explained: “Most of the bus owners have plenty of money. But those who are getting affected by all this are the operators who have only one bus. No one is taking care of them.”

On the question of the bus operators calling the km-scheme illegal, Gupta said, “It should be left to the court to decide.”

Blueline bus operators today outright rejected the Government’s kilometre scheme and said they would not hold any further talks until all their demands were met.

Following the failure of talks with the minister, the Blueline bus union,the STA Nyay Panchayat president Ramesh Dalal said that the terms on which bus operators were asked to negotiate were not acceptable.

The union leader said the government had increased by one rupee per km the amount to be paid to the bus operators in case they joined the km-scheme.

The amount had been raised from Rs 9 to Rs 10 while the operators have been demanding “nothing less than Rs 15 per km”. “We will not join the km scheme for anything less than Rs 15,” Dalal added.

The panchayat’s president said the government should withdraw the notification for nationalisation of routes and allot permits, temporary or permanent, to the staff.

Also, if the Minister wanted to take Blueline buses under the DTC, he should pay Rs 10 lakh compensation to each bus operator and take the buses and also provide jobs to two members of the families of those operators whose buses were taken under the Delhi Transport Corporation, the union leader categorically demanded.