On Friday, Banerjee held a meeting with representatives of trade unions, including CPI-M-controlled CITU, chairmen and managing directors of five state-owned transport corporations and asked them to find out ways to make the corporations self-sustained.

The announcement was made two days after an employee of the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC), a state owned corporation, Bikram Singh, killed himself as he was depressed over non-payment of salary over the last five months.

“The chief minister has categorically said that the government would not hold pension and salaries of the transport corporations in the next six months. During this period, ways would be found to make the corporations self sustained so that they could operate without government subsidy,” transport minister Madan Mitra said following the meeting.

Left leaders Rajdeo Goala and Nepaldeb Bhattacharjee , who attended the meeting, said they were happy with the decision taken by the chief minister. “She said that decisions regarding transport corporations’ revival and other issues will be taken in consultation with the trade unions. We welcome the move,” Goyala said.

Mitra said the chief minister has instructed the MDs and chairmen of the corporations to submit a revival plan for making the PSUs self-sustained. She also stressed on reducing fatal accidents on roads and set up a medical board that would conduct health check-ups of bus drivers and conductors. There are some drivers who do not have good eyesight. Also, categorisation of the transport corporation employees would be done to determine who is fit for what kind of job. No political intervention in the process would be allowed, Mitra said.

“The chief minister has also emphasised on introducing Private Public Partnership (PPP) model in the transport sector but this does not imply that we would decontrol or disinvest the transport corporations. The objective behind the move is to ensure commercial use of assets of the corporations. She also asked the corporations to prepare asset assessment reports,” he said.

Observing that the amount of subsidy being given to transport corporations is unaffordable, Banerjee asked the corporations, whose financial health is too weak, to start an austerity drive, save resources and put all efforts to generate maximum revenue. The state government would ply all the existing buses. Such meetings will be held each month, Mitra added.