Faced with shortage, DTC prefers interest to buses

Incensed by the lack of initiative on the part of the transport minister, the finance ministry of the Delhi Government, which had allocated Rs 117 crore last year, has put a freeze on any further release of a plan fund of Rs 140 crore for more buses. The reason : Gupta should first utilise the pending amount and furnish full details on why the earlier fund was not utilised.

“The government wanted the transport department to buy buses immediately, considering that the Blueline buses scheme had been scrapped. But strangely, the money is only sitting in banks drawing interest,” said the top most official of the finance department.

It was during 1997-98, the finance department had allocated Rs 117 crore for purchase of buses to DTC to revitalise the organisation by carrying out its corporate plan and make it a profit-making body.

But, till March 31, 1998, the DTC had purchased only 22 buses at a cost of Rs 2.27 crore from the fund.

Defending the delay, transport minister Rajendra Gupta said, “We have explained to the finance department that they gave us the money only in December last year. Now, it takes some time for us to go through the process of issuing tenders and placing orders. That is the reason for the delay.”

“We are waiting for new designs of buses. That is what I explained to the finance department, that we want better buses and we are taking our time in getting them,” he added.

Under its corporate plan the DTC was to commercially exploit its real estate in forty-four depots. In a letter, which froze further allocation of funds, the finance department stated: “Not a single paise was generated by the DTC through its corporate plan.”

Rather, it sat over the money meant for buying buses and tried to recover its whopping losses through interests generated through the deposits. According to estimates made by the Delhi Government, the DTC losses amount to Rs one crore a day and the Government pays Rs 12 crore every month to cover up the DTC deficit.

The Delhi Government came to rescue the DTC, as it had even failed to pay salaries of its employees for April and May, leave alone implementing the corporate plan. Gupta said : “We are in the process of buying 50 more buses.” But the freeze on allocation of new funds for the buses will not be relaxed, till the transport minister procures all 550 buses, the finance department official said.