Mumbai: Bridge the gap between perception and reality -- this was the stern message of Transport Minister Anil Parab to the State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), which runs ST buses across the state. It was an overt hint that Parab was unhappy with performance of key officials in the corporation.
Parab assumed charge as transport minister on Tuesday and was reviewing the working of the department. MSRTC comes under the transport department.
MSRTC General Manager Madhav Kale made a presentation before Parab, which projected a rosy picture of the corporation. But Parab, a Sena leader who has risen from the rank and file of the organisation, was not satisfied.
"Your presentation is good but is far from reality. I know the reality. You should focus on bridging the gap between reality and presentation," he warned all the officials present.
The meeting was attended by Transport Secretary Ashish Kumar Singh, Managing Director of MSRTC Ranjit Singh Deol and other key officers of the department.
He also directed officials to focus on providing quality bus service in the rural parts of the state. "Buses should be available on priority basis during school and college hours; in fact, bus schedules should be planned keeping in mind the school and college time table of those areas," he instructed the officials.
The MSRTC runs bus services covering 56 lakh km in the state daily. On an average, daily 66 lakh passengers travel on these buses. In 2018-19, the MSRTC registered a loss of Rs 879 crore and consolidated losses of Rs 4,549 crore, with an annual income and expenditure of Rs 8,119 crore and Rs 8,998 crore respectively.
Expenditure includes Rs 3,748 crore on salary and other employee benefits while Rs 3014 crore was spent on the purchase of diesel. As the price of diesel has increased in the last six years, the MSRTC's annual losses doubled in 2018-19, as compared to 2012-13.
Motor Vehicle Dept fails to stop accidents
The Motor Vehicle department headed by Transport Commissioner has failed to effectively check the road accidents in the state. In the last 5 years, every year more than 10,000 people have died in the accidents. In 2018-19, 35, 926 accidents took place and 13,059 people died.
In the current 2019-20, as per the figures till November 2019, 30,080 accidents have taken place and 11,387 people have died. The department have santioned staff from Group A to D of 5100 but around 2,000 post are vacant. The biggest vacancy is in Group C.
