Bus fare hike violation of HC order?

By Biju Govind

KOZHIKODE, SEPT. 13. The decision of the UDF Government to hike the bus charge by 25 per cent will amount to violation of an interim order of the Kerala High Court.

It also runs counter to an affidavit filed by the LDF Government in the Kerala High Court in December 1998. The UDF Government has not looked into the several factors mentioned in the affidavit filed by then State Transport Secretary, Mr. A. Radhakrishnan, on behalf of the last LDF Government.

The LDF Government had decided to hike the fares for the stage carriages managed by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Kerala Private Bus Operators Association two years ago.

Meanwhile, the UDF Government will have to do a lot of explaining on various aspects pointed out in the interim order - those relating to rule 158 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules and section 179 (2) of the Motor Vehicle Act - passed by the Division Bench comprising Mr. Justice K. Narayana Kurup and Mr. Justice S. Sankarasubban, on June 6, 1999.

These two directives in the court's order required the filing of returns by private bus operators for a three-month period.

Legal hurdles are also likely to impede the implementation of the new bus tariff announced by the Chief Minister, Mr. A.K. Antony, and the Transport Minister, Mr. K.B. Ganesh Kumar. A major hurdle would be the case (O.P. No.17034 of 1997) pending before the High Court.

It may be recalled that the LDF Government, armed with the interim order from the High Court, had then hiked the fares on October 21, 1999 ignoring the tariff that was mentioned in the affidavit.

The minimum fare was raised to Rs 1.75 from the existing Rs 1.25 even though in the affidavit it was clearly stated that a Cabinet Sub Committee had recommended that the minimum fares should not be raised

The LDF Government had also increased the fares to 28 paise per km for ordinary buses and 43.5 paise per km for express buses though the affidavit had asked for only for 24.5 paise increase for ordinary buses and an increase of 10 per cent per km for limited stop, fast passenger, super fast and deluxe express services.

According to the new fare hike, the minimum charge for ordinary services would be increased from Rs 1.75 to Rs 2. The minimum charge for fast passenger services would go up from Rs 2.50 to Rs 3, super fast services from Rs 4 to Rs 6, super express services from Rs 7 to Rs 10 and deluxe services from Rs 13.50 to Rs 20. The rates would come into force from October 1.

Documents available with The Hindu indicate the State Government also ignored some of the other proposals referred to in the affidavit filed before the High Court on behalf of LDF Government.

The State Government has, for example, failed to take action even after it became known that the private bus operators have not been filing their statutory returns.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee had found out that the handful of private bus operators who had submitted returns had shown figures which did not seem credible. No decision has been taken to authorise the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) to rectify the anomalies in the determination of the fare-stages.

The decision of the State Government to hike the charges shows the general public has to shoulder the burden on account of the financial mismanagement of public establishment at its highest level.

The last time Karnataka and Tamil Nadu increased the bus charge was in November 1999 and October 1999 respectively. The Tamil Nadu Government increased the fares of ordinary buses by 22 paise and express by 25 paise and the Karnataka Government increased the fares of ordinary buses by 24 paise and express buses by 29.5 paise.

While the neighbouring States are successfully running their public vehicles without any financial hurdles, Kerala is taxing the tax payers all the more.

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