The operators of 12,000-odd private buses have sought treatment on par with the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in the wake of the State government issuing a notification on Saturday, exempting buses and other vehicles owned by KSRTC, KSRTC-Swift and Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) from paying motor vehicle tax for five years.
An explanatory note to the notification issued in ‘public interest’ dated March 26 says the three agencies can avail the exemption which would take effect from 1 April, 2021, considering that KSRTC is a State Transport Undertaking (STU), and its precarious financial condition.
The president of Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation, M.B. Satyan, wondered why private buses have not been extended tax exemption, since both the RTC and private buses serve the same purpose of enabling commuting at affordable fares. “It is high time private buses too are brought under the ambit of public transport, since both types of services operate as per the fare structure fixed by the government. Bus operators will pursue this demand yet again with the government.”
CNG kit
He reiterated the demand that the government facilitate interest-free loan to bus operators to retrofit CNG kit, considering that the fuel is priced much lower than diesel and causes less air and noise pollution. Mr Satyan said unlike private buses, most KSRTC buses operated without availing the mandatory third-party insurance cover, although the government extended it monetary help to the tune of ₹1,800 crore during the past year alone.
Terming the tax exemption granted to KSRTC and the two agencies under it as a need of the hour, the CMD of KSRTC Biju Prabhakar said the RTC’s buses operated to remote areas not connected by private buses, including well into the night as directed by the government. “There is little meaning in the (loss-making) agency remitting motor vehicle tax and the government having to pool back the funds as assistance to the same agency. The five-year tax exemption is part of the process that is on since 2018 to restructure the RTC and to lessen its operational and other expenses.”
Same is the case with limiting insurance to 700 super-class buses (from among KSRTC’s operable fleet of 5,500 buses), since the RTC would otherwise have to incur expenses worth ₹42 crore each year on this count alone. This is in stark contrast with the ₹62 crore that the agency has accrued over the past years as insurance claims. Moreover, short-distance buses, for which insurance premium is not being paid, are at much lesser risk of meeting with accidents. Their insurance claims are settled from the financial assistance being provided by the government, Mr. Prabhakar said.
