Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Government informed the state assembly on Wednesday that 100 loss making bus routes which were not operational during Covid Pandemic have been closed as it is not viable for the HRTC to continue them.
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri informed the house while replying to a query raised by Vinod Sultanpuri (Kasauli) that only Manali-Manikaran HRTC route closed during the Covid pandemic was restored by the HRTC. He said that ten worn out buses in Kasauli will be replaced soon but they could not be plied on loss making routes.
He said that HRTC is running at a book value loss of Rs 1300 Crore and Rs 400 to Rs 500 Crore is pending in liabilities of employees. Minister said that Rs 70 Crore was released by the state government to meet the liabilities of HRTC employees on their pensions.
He said that 500 new rural routes would be advertised soon by the government to provide self employment avenues to the youth. He said that HRTC could not be run without HRTC buses but members would be accommodated to restore some of the loss making route to an extent.
