Tale Two State Undertakings: Closure of Silk Board and 3000 New Buses
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Apr 19: Here is a contrasting tale on the plight of the two State-owned bodies of Karnataka: While the State Government has decided to close down loss-making Karnataka Silk Marketing Board (KSMB), as many as 3,000 new buses are being inducted into the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) during the year 2010-11.

Karnataka’s Sericulture and Small Scale Industries Venkataramanappa said the KSMB, established in 1979, has been earning barely Rs 70 to Rs 80 lakh annually against an expenditure of Rs 3.6 crore and a decision on its closure would be taken at the next cabinet meeting.

Ministers Venkataramanappa and R Ashok

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Transport Minister R Ashok said as many as 3,000 buses would be purchased during this year as part of plans to ply more buses on nationalised and private
routes to break the monopoly of private bus operators. Of the 3,000 new buses to be inducted, 800 would be added to the KSRTC’s fleet and the remaining to other road transport corporations, including Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

Venkataramanappa said the government proposed to offer attractive voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to the 101 employees in the KSMB. Those who refused to opt for the VRS would be accommodated in other government departments, he said.

Buses would be deployed on all nationalised routes where it has no presence till now and this required purchase of additional buses, Ashok said, adding that KSRTC has recently introduced buses between Udupi-Mangalore and Udupi-Kasargod, where the private sector had dominated for the last 50 years. Similarly, the department has decided to introduce more buses on routes in Tumkur, Kolar and Chamarajanagar districts.

The Sericulture Minister said a private firm has conducted a study to find out the
viability of the KSMB in 2008, which had recommended certain suggestions for its revival. However, the study recommended the closure of the Board in the interest of the State economy.

In March 2008, the Board meeting of the Karnataka Silk Marketing Board also suggested to the government its closure. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report also
recommended the closure of the Board since it was incurring loss for the past two decades, Venkataramanappa said.

Though the Board has submitted a Rs 20 crore proposal for its revival, the Finance Department has not responded to it.  The Board, which was marketing arm of the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC), was set up to market silk products and ensure fair prices for reelers, the Minister said.

Pointing out that orders had already been placed for the purchase of 1,000 buses, Ashok said KSRTC has enough financial capacity to purchase additional buses and it does not require the state government’s guarantee. ``Almost all the nationalised banks have come forward to give us loans to purchase buses. We have adequate resources to add more buses on our own,” he said.

On the proposed metro terminal at the Kempegowda bus station, the Minister said that the work on building metro rail terminal would commence within 3-4 months. The project would be tendered on April 23 and the process would be completed in the next two months.

Out of 20 acres at the Kempegowda bus station ( Majestic) which belonged to the Transport Department, seven acres would be handed over to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited for building its main terminal.

Buses to various towns and cities would be operated from satellite bus stations such as Kengeri, Shantinagar and Mysore Road. Security and CCTVs would be placed at the satellite stations to ensure safety among the passengers. The government has planned to build satellite bus stations at 10 different places across the city, Ashok said.

BMTC would observe a disciplinary week from April 24 to bring in lane discipline among drivers. About 300 personnel of the BMTC and Home Guards would be deployed in the City to monitor the discipline among the drivers, conductors and commuters, he added.