Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

No reduction in bus fare

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If the Centre slashes diesel price by 14 per cent, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will also reduce bus fare, Transport Minister Mathew T.Thomas has said.

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Thursday, Mr.Thomas said that the 5.09 per cent price reduction announced by the Centre was too meagre. Increase in the prices of spare parts and tyre too were taken into account for hiking the bus fare.

The income from the fare hike was only Rs.8 crore daily. If the Centre reduced the diesel price by 14 per cent, the corporation too would revise the fare. A telescopic fare pattern had been envisaged for long-distance services to bring about parity in train and bus fares. Shopping complex-cum-bus stations had been planned at 52 centres to increase the corporation’s income, he said.

As many as 717 accidents involving KSRTC buses were reported between January and September this year. The accidents claimed 142 lives and left 721 people injured. The corporation had given Rs.28 crore as compensation to the victims. The licence of 540 persons was cancelled for negligent driving, he said.

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said that the Sales Tax Department had conducted 666 raids in the current financial year and detected tax evasion to the tune of Rs.27.5 crore. Unaccounted goods worth Rs.56.29 crore were seized in the raids.

The fiscal deficit for 2007-08 was Rs.6,100.20 crore, he said. The Agriculture Debt Relief Commission which got 3,35,762 applications for relief from farmers had settled only13,758 cases. A special cell would be opened at Mancompu for implementing the Kuttanad package, Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran said.

Health Minister P.K.Sreemathy said that a 10-storey building would be constructed for the Regional Cancer Centre here and an in-patient block for the Malabar Cancer Centre.

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