Civic body unwilling to operate Metro bus

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 16

Though the Department of Local Government has taken over the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) from the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) in September 2020, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation has been unwilling to operate the Metro bus.

Reason: The BRTS project is not financially viable. The state government spends around Rs3 crore every month on salary of employees, fuel and other operating costs. And revenue generated from the project was not enough to pay salary to staff.

The company hired by the government to operate the Metro bus often pays salary late as the firm entirely depends on the government funding.

The ridership has not increased during the last one year. At present, around 25,000 persons travel daily on Metro bus.

The Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC), a wing of the Local Government Department, had officially taken over the project from the PIDB on October 1, 2020.

Mayor Karmajit Singh Rintu stated that the project was not viable and the MC cannot pay Rs3 crore to Rs4 crore every month. The civic body was likely to discuss the matter in the upcoming General House meet.

Meanwhile, MC Commissioner Komal Mittal said, “The PMIDC is operating the Metro bus. Financial liabilities of the BRTS are enormous. Thus, we have no plan to take over the project.”

The BRTS was a dream project of former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, which faced numerous challenges since its inauguration on December 16, 2016. Despite tall claims, the Congress government, too, failed to make the project financially viable.