Much to the chagrin of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the state government had to take a decision to go slow on the issue of reconstruction of the five state transport PSUs — Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC), South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC), North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) and West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation — and it seems the CM is again being pulled from behind by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the CPM’s labour wing.

On December 29 last year, Public Sector Enterprise Secretary Subrata Gupta, in a note to the state Chief Secretary, had said the decision to refurbish the five transport PSUs was taken “recently” and the consultancy firm — Deloitte — was asked to take a survey of the moribund companies for which the state government had to shell out Rs 800 crore every year as subsidy.

The explanation of Transport Minister Ranjit KUndu was not clear. “I will have to see all papers and only then I can tell you what we are going to do,” Kundu told The Indian Express.

And Deloitte, which was supposed to submit its report in the first week of January, could not do it. “Their report is not ready. We are waiting for it,” an official of the Department of PSE told this newspaper.

In 2004, the state government took the initiative to reconstruct the five transport PSUs with 25,000 employees, but PWC, the consultant, could not finish the survey because of fierce resistance by the CITU, which was then backed by late minister for transport Subhas Chakraborty.