Bus operators threaten ‘breakdown’ over non-payment

Nagpur: Three red bus operators appointed by Nagpur Municipal Corporation on Friday submitted intimation letters for ‘operational breakdown’ from anytime now as their outstanding dues crossed Rs 10 crore each.
Municipal commissioner Ashwin Mudgal admitted the NMC was not able to pay operators regularly. He, however, said for this reason, the operators could not go for breakdown.He warned of invoking ESMA (Essential Services and Maintenance Act) against the operators if they stopped bus operations. The Maharashtra government has already empowered NMC to invoke ESMA.
This time, the collective dues of the three red bus operators have mounted to Rs35 crore. Apart from the the red bus operators Hansa City Bus Services, RK City Bus Services and Travel Time Car Rental, the civic body has also defaulted on payments to Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS), green bus operator Scania and two ticketing agencies. This amount is around Rs 15 crore.
In a letter to Mudgal, NMC transport committee chairman Bunty Kukde, chief accounts and finance officer Mona Thakur and transport manager Shivaji Jagtap, the operators warned of operational breakdown due to non availability of funds. “We have not received payment for our pending bills since December 2017. Due to this, we are facing problem in making payments for diesel, EMIs for vehicles, salary to drivers/mechanics and mandatory contributions of ESI and PF, respectively,” they stated in separate letters.
One of the operators claimed their dues had crossed over Rs 10.50 crore (Rs 3.5 crore of December 2017, Rs 3.5 crore -- January 2018 and Rs 3.5 crore -- February 2018). The operators are defaulting on their loan repayments, interest on cash credit, overdraft and working capital. It is not the first time the operators have threatened to stop the service. In February, similar action was averted at the last moment by releasing part payment.