Kerala to set up panel to study Priyadarshini scheme impact on private buses: Minister CP John

Kerala Transport Minister C P John on Monday said the state government would constitute a committee to examine allegations that KSRTC's Priyadarshini scheme had adversely affected the revenue of private bus operators in the state.

The committee will hear representations from stakeholders, assess the challenges faced by the private bus sector and examine whether the operation of Priyadarshini services has caused financial losses on specific routes before submitting its findings to the government.

The Priyadarshini scheme, a flagship initiative of the UDF government, offers free travel for women and transgender persons of all ages on KSRTC ordinary buses across the state.

Defending the scheme, the minister said the decline in the number of private buses in Kerala began long before Priyadarshini was introduced. "It is claimed that Kerala once had around 33,000 private buses, but the number has now come down to nearly 8,000. This decline cannot be attributed to the Priyadarshini scheme alone. The crisis has been building over the years, but no serious effort was made to study its causes or find solutions in the past 10 years," John told the media.

He said the present government had begun examining the reasons behind the sharp fall in the number of private buses and had already taken steps to support the sector. "As part of that effort, we reduced the quarterly tax on stage carriage buses by 50 per cent. I am not blaming anyone, but unlike in the past, when taxes only increased, this government has chosen to reduce them. That reflects our approach of treating private bus operators as investors in the public transport sector," he said.

The minister's remarks come amid protests by private bus operators, who allege that the Priyadarshini scheme has led to a sharp decline in their earnings. Around 450 private buses remained off the roads across Kasaragod on Monday as operators observed a one-day token strike demanding measures to address the impact of the scheme on their livelihood.

Meanwhile, the minister reiterated that the government remained supportive of private bus operators and argued that the issues they raised were not uniform across the state. "Neyyattinkara taluk has the highest number of KSRTC ordinary services and virtually no private buses, so the issue does not arise there. In Malappuram, there are only 68 KSRTC ordinary buses, and private operators have not reported similar concerns. However, in districts such as Pathanamthitta and Kottayam, where the number of KSRTC ordinary buses and private buses is almost equal, there are challenges that need to be examined," he said.

John maintained that the Priyadarshini scheme was 'not a problem but a solution' for lakhs of families in Kerala. "The scheme has provided significant financial relief to women and strengthened household incomes. In effect, it has increased the disposable income of many working women by around 25 per cent and brought about a positive change in thousands of households," he said.