PARLIAMENT

Govt has allocated Rs 41,850 million for SLTB and Railways - Dy Transport Minister

Sandasen Marasinghe, Irangika Range and Disna Mudalige

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa presided when Parliament met at 9.30 am yesterday. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the House took up the Finance Heads on the Transport Ministry and Power and Energy Ministry during the committee stage of the debate of the Appropriation Bill 2012.

New expressway

Sujeewa Senasinghe (UNP): Many problems have been reported with regard to the standard of the Southern Highway. The government should be more careful in constructing highways in Sri Lanka.

Already over 100 road accidents have occurred on the Southern Highway. The public sector transport has collapsed. Both the SLTB and the Railways Department are running at a loss.

Allocations for both the SLTB and Railways have not been sufficient. How could the SLTB purchase new buses and add them to their fleet of buses when they are running at a loss.

Under the Mahinda Chintana, the government has promised to add a fleet of about 5,000 new buses to the SLTB. It has not been delivered so far.

Transport Deputy Minister Rohana Kumara Dissanayake: The government has allocated a sum of Rs 41,850 million to the SLTB and Railways. This is the biggest allocation by the government for the first time in the history of the budget.

The government's aim to provide a quick and comfortable ride to the public at affordable rates have been achieved.

Twenty three percent of the total buses of the SLTB had been allocated to transport schoolchildren. Nearly 300,000 schoolchildren are being daily transported by the SLTB buses. The railway lines which had been destroyed by the terrorists would be rebuilt and extended up to Kankesanthurai within the next two years.

New railway lines are being constructed throughout the country. We have introduced a new mechanism to reduce road accidents and enhance the transport system. VAT charges on imported buses have been exempted. Taxes on tyre imports for lorries and buses too, have been reduced by 50 percent.

Prices of agricultural products have increased

P Harison (UNP): Farmers are in big trouble due to the newly introduced rule of transporting their crops in plastic crates. Their products are rotting and decaying.

The prices of agricultural products have been increased. Consumers are facing great hardships due to the shortage of vegetables and fruits in the market.

Millions have been spent to purchase power-sets from India. But, today, drivers had refused to operate these power-sets due to many technical problems, threatening even the lives of both passengers and drivers.

No transport institution makes profits

Health Deputy Minister Lalith Dissanayake: This is a service provided to our common man. No transport institution in any country makes profits. A number of buses for the SLTB have been increased.

Both the SLTB and the Railway could not expect profits, since they issue monthly season tickets to students and public servants at very low rates.

Pon Selvarasa (TNA): No Second Class compartments have been provided in the Batticaloa-bound trains. A sufficient number of trains have not been operating in the Eastern Province. You must take measures to add First Class and Second Class and luxury compartments to the Batticaloa bound trains. Nishantha Muttuhettigama (UPFA): The Transport Ministry has rendered a yeoman service to society by providing transport service to the common man at affordable rates. The SLTB has been strengthened by the purchase of new buses. New ticket machines have been introduced to save time and money of both the passengers as well as of bus operators. New luxury buses have been added on to the roads in Colombo and its suburbs for the benefit of office travellers during the morning and evening.

Gayantha Karunatilleke (UNP): We are very happy to note that a suitable person has been appointed as the Transport Minister.

The name Welgama has been bound with transport. The transport service has gradually developed. We are appreciable that the railway line could be extended to Kataragama from Matara. Presently, the Railways Department is more than 150 years old. It could provide a better service to the public. Today, two-thirds of the commuters travel in buses. Out of it the CTB owns only about 20 percent of the buses.

Joseph Michael Perera (UNP): I appreciate the Transport Minister for being truthful.

Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody takes the Chair.

The CGR has been a very difficult area in transport sector for a minister to handle, compared to the CTB. But you have handled them efficiently. But I question you as to whether there is a plan to develop CGR? When there are engines, the CGR lacks compartments.

Now the government gets the service of 20,000 private buses to provide transport to the country. The private bus services had been initiated by the UNP government.

I appreciate minister Welgama for his promptness in answering questions relevant to his subject, without postponing them.

Chandrakumar Murugesu (UPFA): The government has taken measures to develop the transport sector in the North. There are five depots in the Northern Province. During this post-conflict era, the Northern Province needed more buses for these depots. Still there has been no bus services to remote villages in the Northern Province. The people in the North have been suffering from transport problems due to terrorism.

Now the road network in the North has been developed. Buses should be provided to those areas. We have to develop the railway line to the North.

Vijayakala Maheshwaran (UNP): Buses in the North have not been adequate. About 100 buses are needed, while there are only 55 buses at present.

There had been many private buses, but route permits had not been issued to them, but they had been unable to settle loan instalments. About 120 buses are needed for Jaffna.

Transport Minister Kumara Welgama: A bus plying from Matugama to Jaffna earns Rs 65,000 a day. How much do you earn from your buses? You too owns buses.

Vijayakala Maheshwaran: I don't own buses.

Private Transport Services Minister C B Ratnayake: The UNP said that they had initiated the private bus service.

As to why was a situation created to privatise the bus service in 1959? The bus drivers and conductors had attempted to maintain a monopoly. There had not been a proper bus service during those days. Those were the reasons that created an environment for the privatisation of the bus service.

The government had to initiate the CTB as the then transport service did not have any discipline. Still there are private buses operating between Colombo and Jaffna without route permits. We have taken measures to initiate action against them.

The CTB has been operating with the objective of providing a service other than earning profits. There had been a conflict between a group of employees of the Hanguranketha Depot and employees of private buses. Though I requested the chairman of the CTB to initiate an investigation into the incident, so far it has not been commenced.

Today, there are rumours that private bus fares would be increased and that they were to initiate a strike. But if such an attempt is taken during the period of the O-L examinations, we would take action against them.

Deputy Chairman of Committees Murugesu Chandrakumar takes the Chair.

We would be able to face such a situation without any problem. Expressways are constructed. We will provide transport service suitable for the new road networks. We have to link this field with technology. We could use GPS technology to locate a bus and a card system for the purchase of tickets. We have to protect the CTB and we will help the minister to do it.

The Finance Heads were passed without amendments.

The House adjourned until 9.30 am today.

To be continued