Punjab: PRTC staff protest over salary delay as new chief takes charge

Newly appointed PEPSU Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) chairperson and AAP councillor Harpal Juneja faced criticism on his first day in office as employees held a protest over alleged financial mismanagement and delay in payment of salaries.

The protest was organised by the AITUC-backed PRTC Workers’ Action Committee at the Patiala bus stand. Employees marched across the premises and raised slogans against the state government. The unions alleged the state-run transport corporation was under a debt of nearly Rs 600 crore and that workers had not received their salaries since November. They said December salaries were released only after a day-long protest on Thursday.

Union leaders spoke about the “worsening financial crisis” in the PRTC. They alleged while the government had spent more than Rs 600 crore on free travel for women, police personnel and other categories, it failed to release Rs 30-35 crore per month needed to pay salaries and pensions on time.

Action committee convener Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal said, “PRTC earns an average income of about Rs 2.25 crore daily. Nearly Rs 1.25 crore is spent on free travel, leaving about Rs 1 crore, most of which goes towards fuel. Around 5,000 pensioners and 4,500 employees are suffering because the government has not reimbursed nearly Rs 600 crore spent on free travel over the past 18 months.”

Action committee members said after AAP came to power in the state, government transport services had been weakened. They said no new buses had been added to the PRTC fleet in four years, while over 1,000 buses in Punjab Roadways and PUNBUS had been phased out, benefiting private operators.