towards people friendly politics

text of the letter sent to the Indian Express:

I refer to the report captioned 'KSRTC needs Rs 2,000/- crores to upgrade facilities' published in your columns on the 21st instant.

Now, I can't see any earthly reason why the government should be investing such a huge amount in KSRTC when the private sector can bring in far more funds to this vital infrastructure sector, as also provide far better services, very much as it has done in the case of aviation, telephony, banking, insurance, etc, if the government just facilitates the process. To begin with, the government could repeal archaic laws like the Contract Carriage Act, and license all services uniformly as bus services, allowing them to operate on routes and at fare levels of their choice, charging annual license fees on the basis of just the vehicle floor area. Within months, you will see the transformation, with every corner of the state well connected with every kind of service, ranging from 'Kingfisher' levels to 'Air Deccan', with the Air Deccan fare levels being far lower than that being charged currently by the ordinary KSRTC services. To cope with the competition, the KSRTC can be incorporated into a company (after reverting all the non-movable assets in its possession to the local municipal bodies), with the staff and labour holding substantial stake in it, and a nominal license fee concession being allowed for some first three years.

The same goes for the city services also.

There cannot be a more people friendly gesture from the government. All that is required is the political will.