An NST bus prepares to pass a dilapidated bridge on NH-155, in Nagaland. (File Photo)
Dimapur : The “humane and public utility service” provided by the Nagaland State Transport (NST) department in the form of plying on uneconomical routes has taken its toll. The department, which is supposed to be a revenue-earning department, has till date not been able to achieve its yearly revenue target.
Though the revenue of the department had gone up from around Rs. 2 crore ten years ago to nearly Rs. 9 crore in 2008, the corresponding expenditure incurred by the department in 2008 was around Rs. 22 crore, out of which salary component alone constituted 69% (Rs. 15 crore approximately).
Official sources from the Transport department disclosed that the vast gap between revenue and expenditure was due to the fact that 36% of volume of operation of NST buses was on uneconomical or non-profit routes. Further, the expenditure on fuel (diesel) in 2008 was roughly estimated at Rs. 5 crore. According to department sources, of the 97 routes that NST buses are currently plying, 35 routes are uneconomical, 34 break-evens while only 28 routes are profit routes.
“The department has to bear with loss of revenue since we cannot do away with the humane and public utility service as otherwise the chunk of rural populace who daily depend on NST buses would be deprived,” an NST official said.
“Otherwise, our operational cost is very less. We procure all types of spare parts including tyres directly from the manufacturers since supply rate is very high. We also procure these items on need-base and there is no stock piling. Being a ‘revenue-earning’ department, we are also adopting other austerity measures,” the official added. It may be mentioned that NST bagged two consecutive awards for “lowest operational cost” from the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) in 2004 and 2005.
In order to minimize loss and garner more revenue, the department has also introduced a number of innovative plans including outsourcing of revenue collection, communitization by handing over revenue collection to village development boards (VDBs) and online ticketing.
Besides these, the department is also busy with infrastructure development like building commercial sites adjacent to bus stations and leasing or renting them out to private parties. NST operates on 97 routes with route length of 11,377 kms and 162 scheduled services covering 22,230 kms daily including Dimapur city services and inter-state service (Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal), with a fleet strength of 256 buses. In most rural areas, the “bus-green and royal ivory” NST buses are the major means of transport both in fair and rough weathers.