Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik appointed MSRTC chairman

The Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik was appointed as chairman of the staterun corporation Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC by the state government two months after IAS officer Sanjay Sethi was given the post in a departure from convention reported the PTIThe MSRTC in a release on Thursday said that the Maharashtra government has appointed Pratap Sarnaik as the 26th chairman of MSRTC as per provisions of the State Transport Corporation Act1950 and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation rulesI am committed to creating a good quality transport service by financially empowering MSRTC which is lokvahini public carrier of the common people of Maharashtra in the future Pratap Sarnaik said after his appointment according to the PTIOn February 5 then transport secretary Sethi an additional chief secretaryrank officer was made chairman of the MSRTC instead of a public representative which had been the conventionSethi will continue to be on the MSRTCs board as an exofficio memberThe MSRTC operates a fleet of around 14000 buses catering to some 55 lakh passengers daily and has a workforce of about 90000One of Indias largest public transport undertakings the MSRTC has been struggling with mounting losses an aging fleet employee strikes and declining ridership in recent years To mitigate daily financial losses the corporation enforced a 1495 per cent fare hike earlier this yearMeanwhile Sarnaik on Thursday said that the delays in receiving government subsidies particularly those related to concessions provided to select groups of passengers have adversely affected staterun MSRTCs financial health as per the PTIHe stated that timely release of funds from the state finance department is crucial for the MSRTC to overcome its financial lossesSarnaik was speaking to reporters on Wednesday after conducting his first Lok Darbar meeting where ministers or officials address citizen grievances in Palghar district since becoming a cabinet member in December last yearIf the funds are disbursed on time by the finance department the losses incurred by MSRTC can be compensated There are instances where delayed payments create serious operational challenges for us corporation the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena leader said reported the PTISarnaik said he has raised the issue with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who holds the finance portfolio and requested that MSRTC receive the same priority in fund allocation as other departmentsTouching upon broader financial planning Sarnaik noted that the distribution of funds through the District Planning Committee DPC is still pending finalisationA meeting will soon be held between state BJP president and revenue minister Chandrashekar Bawankule NCP Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare and Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant Shiv Sena to finalize the funding formula based on the proposals submitted by guardian ministers of each district he said the news agency reportedResponding to demands of local residents Pratap Sarnaik said that the longstanding request for an independent Regional Transport Office RTO in Palghar will soon be fulfilledwith PTI inputsatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params