The Hindu : Public hearing on bus routes privatisaton postponed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 06, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Public hearing on bus routes privatisaton postponed

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENAI DEC. 5. The public hearing on bus routes privatisation, scheduled for December 17, was put off by one month by the Madras High Court today, after the Government came out with an offer to that effect.

All writ petitions, including one from the CPI(M) State secretary N. Varadarajan, which was admitted today, challenging the `denationalisation' move, were referred to a Division Bench for further hearing and appropriate orders.

Earlier, when arguments on the labour unions' petitions resumed before Justice K.P. Sivasubramaniam, the Advocate-General, N.R. Chandran, submitted the government stand that the public hearing could be postponed by one month ie., till January 17 next.

The judge granted one-month time for receiving objections against the `denationalisation' proposal too. The original deadline for receiving objections was December 10, 2002.

Mr. Chandran also sought time and leave to file the government counter to the main writ petitions as well as a supplementary affidavit filed by the CITU-affiliated Tamil Nadu State Transport Workers Federation general secretary, A. Soundararajan.

Citing various newspaper reports, Mr. Soundararajan contended that a high-power committee, comprising the Chief Secretary and Secretaries of the departments concerned, went into the denationalisation issue and submitted a report.

The proposal was not issued to meet the objectives mentioned in Section 99 of the Motor Vehicles Act, but for extraneous reasons and ulterior purposes. Giving away permits on tender to the highest bidder was nothing but trafficking in permits, he added.

`Bus routes for Dalits'

The RPI leader and MLA, C.K.Tamizharasan, today asked the State Government to allot some bus routes, which are to be privatised according to a proposal, for Dalits.

The proposal to privatise bus routes would cause hardship to the people.

However, if the Government went ahead with the proposal, it should consider reserving "certain percentage of routes" for Dalits. Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry had effected such reservations, he claimed.

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Public hearing on bus routes privatisaton postponed