Free bus scheme for women to be implemented in next 100 days in Andhra Pradesh, says Minister M. Ramprasad Reddy

While the Minister assures that his government is committed to fulfilling all its electoral promises, the shortage of buses and the precarious financial position of the State seem to be major constraints in rolling out the free bus ride scheme for women in Andhra Pradesh

Transport Minister M. Ramprasad Reddy has said that two schemes—the free bus travel scheme and the first phase of the disbursement of free LPG cylinders to women— are proposed to be launched in the next 100 days.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Minister said important initiatives such as raising the pension to ₹4,000 from ₹3,000, restoring Anna canteens, recruiting teachers in government schools through ‘mega DSC’, and initiating a skill census to identify young people’s skills and provide them with training to improve their job prospects have been launched in the first 100 days of the TDP rule.

“We will not fall short of people’s expectations, as the government is committed to fulfilling all its promises,” said the Minister.

An Andhra Pradesh government delegation had visited Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where similar schemes are already in force, and the modalities of the implementation in Andhra Pradesh are being worked out, he added.

₹120 cr. burden per month

According to provisional estimates, the free bus ride for women scheme would cause a daily revenue loss of ₹4 crore to the State exchequer and a monthly expenditure of around ₹120 crore.

Of the 40 lakh passengers who travel by the APSRTC buses daily, 15 lakh women will benefit from the free bus ride scheme, and the authorities say they are looking at the key aspects of the categorisation of the beneficiaries and the bus services to be covered under the scheme.

Fleet shortage

However, the cash-strapped APSRTC faces the challenge of a shortage of buses for implementing the scheme, especially in the wake of a study revealing that the scheme would result in an immediate 30% increase in the occupancy ratio and that the Corporation will need more buses and manpower to operate them.

In addition to the existing strength of around 10,000 buses in the APSRTC fleet, the TDP-led NDA government in the State has procured 1,489 new buses, of which 306 vehicles have begun to operate in Kuppam, Rayachoti and Visakhapatnam. The State plans to add more buses to the fleet, as per sources.

Meanwhile, as the TDP-led NDA government in the State completed 100 days in power in September this year, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his team rolled out a few of the promised welfare programmes mentioned in the NDA coalition’s ‘Super Six’ electoral promise.

However, the prospective beneficiaries of the remaining schemes that have yet to be grounded are growing impatient, say sources.

Even though the TDP, encouraged by the political dividends reaped by parties through the free bus ride scheme for women in the neighbouring States, included it in its poll manifesto, the precarious financial position of the State is proving to be a major constraint for the government, which is reported to have decided to launch its schemes in a phased manner.

Delay questioned

The Opposition parties, meanwhile, are seeking to corner the Naidu government on the delay in grounding the promised welfare measures for different sections.

AP Congress Committee president Y.S. Sharmila has even pointed out that the Congress rolled out the scheme on the second day of forming the government in Telangana and only within three weeks of coming to power in Karnataka.

Published - October 10, 2024 07:49 pm IST