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Journalism of Courage
BANGALORE, Oct 22: Both Karnataka and Maharashtra on Monday finalised a five-year-old draft agreement on the inter-state routes for the movement of buses run by the State-owned transport corporations. It was only in 1979 that the two States had reached an agreement on inter-state bus routes.
Announcing this, State Transport Minister P G R Sindhia told mediapersons that a decision was arrived at on Monday after a meeting with Maharashtra Minister of State for Transport Babusaheb Dhabekar and other senior officials of both states.
He said a draft agreement was made in 1992 covering various aspects for a three year period, but could not be finalised following minor technical hitches. The two State governments have resolved all aspects amicably. A notification would soon be issued by both the governments immediately to make the agreement come into force from December 1, 1997.
It was also decided to send a team of state officials to Mumbai during next month to chalk out another proposal to fill up the gap following problems which cropped up in the earlier agreement and for the plans on the routes between the two states.
He said the present draft agreement has incorporated two modifications to the 1992 agreement.
While the tax has been exempted on both sides for plying of the State-owned buses, it was also agreed to drop the proposal of issuing permit for contract carriers, he added. Under the proposal, Karnataka would ply 142 routes with 358 buses on an exclusive basis and on 130 routes with 299 buses jointly.
Maharashtra would operate 252 exclusive routes with 497 buses and 130 routes with 299 buses jointly. The number of goods vehicles would be raised from 8,000 trucks to 15,000. The agreement will thus facilitate better bus services in the border districts of both the States in the inter-state service.
On the basis of 1979 agreement, it was decided to ply 262 buses on inter-state routes, and now it has been raised to 657 buses. ay¬Ut›¼=¼Tt›d Vyas.
