3K cluster buses may pause ops over unpaid Rs 300 cr dues
The financial deadlock has persisted since the Delhi Assembly elections, with operators claiming they have not received a single payment since the new BJP-led administration took charge.
The private operators, responsible for nearly 45 percent of the bus fleet, said the situation has escalated to a crisis point, making it increasingly difficult to manage day-to-day operations. 'The delays in payment have led to layoffs of hundreds of staff members, including drivers and maintenance personnel. A workforce of about 15,000 employees is engaged in running and maintaining the cluster buses,' a bus operator said on the condition of anonymity. According to the operators, the last partial payments were made during the tenure of the previous Aam Aadmi Party government.
'A similar crisis had occurred before the last Assembly elections, when a payment of Rs 60 crore was finally made under public pressure. However the current dues are five times that amount,' another operator recalled.
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