Karnataka on Monday gave the biggest push yet for the local trains by allocating funds for three major projects in its budget, but has let down the four transport corporations which have suffered losses of Rs 4,000 crore over the last one year.
Days after the Centre allocated Rs 300 crore for the much-anticipated suburban rail project as part of the equity infusion to the joint venture company, the state government has gone a step further by setting aside Rs 850 crore for the Rs 16,000-crore project.
Two crucial doubling projects that have been pending over the years due to the initial reluctance of the state government to share the cost have not got full support of the same government.
The budget has allocated Rs 813 crore for the doubling and electrification of Byappanahalli-Hosur (estimated cost Rs 376 Crore) and Yeshwantpur-Channasandra (Rs 170 crore) lines, which will help in the introduction of the local trains without waiting for the completion of the full-fledged suburban rail project.
The budget announces the construction of 52 bus stations and 16 bus depots across the state without the particulars. It also makes mention of supporting public transport by “taking maximum advantage” of the Union government’s “Augmentation of City Bus Services”
project.
However, activists pointed at the action taken report in which the government said it has diverted the Rs 100 crore set aside in the last year’s budget for procuring 300 electric buses to pay the salary of the BMTC employees.
Vinay Sreenivasa of the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike questioned the government’s failure to support the bus corporations.
“Metro projects get thousands of crores of rupees while the BMTC loses even the few crores allocated in the budget,” he said.
The announcement of concessional bus pass to women garment workers in Bengaluru at an expenditure of Rs 30 crore comes as a saving grace for a budget that otherwise doesn’t have much for the bus commuters.
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