Kolkata, Jan 20 With several months left for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to announce the polling date for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled later this year, the biggest transporters' body in the state, on Tuesday, sent a release to the Commission setting advanced conditions for supplying buses for election duty this time.
In the release, the West Bengal Bus-Minibus Coordination Committee, the biggest transporters' body in the state, had said that no bus or minibus would be supplied for election-related duties unless payments for buses and minibuses supplied for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are completely cleared.
The association had said that as of now, the bus and minibus owners have received only a part of their payments for the vehicles supplied for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and hence the remaining payments will have to be cleared for the supply of vehicles for the upcoming state Assembly polls.
In the release, the association had also placed the new demanded rates for different categories of buses to be supplied for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.
In cases of buses with 40 seats or more, the new demanded rate chart is Rs 4,500 a day.
In case of buses with 30 to 40 seats, the new demanded rate is Rs 4,000 a day.
In case of buses with up to 30 seats, the new demanded rate is Rs 3,500 a day.
The new demanded rate for air-conditioned buses is Rs 5,500 a day.
"In addition to that, the bus drivers and workers who will be hired for the buses supplied will have to be paid Rs 500 per person per day. The buses will be released on hire only if the ECI accepts these demands," the Association's General Secretary, Rahul Chattopadhyay, said.
He added that the average rates for supplying buses in West Bengal for election purposes is quite low compared to other states.
"At the same time, it takes much time to get the full payments against the buses supplied for elections," he said.
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