NEW DELHI: The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has suffered a staggering revenue loss of approximately Rs 1,700 crore since 2016 due to its failure to revise bus fares, according to the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in the Delhi assembly on Monday.
The report highlighted that DTC’s reluctance to implement a fare hike led to an annual revenue shortfall of around Rs 170 crore. The last fare revision for DTC buses took place on November 3, 2009. Despite several requests from DTC to the Delhi government, including proposals in 2010, 2012, and later in 2016, no fare hike was approved, even as operational costs surged. The financial shortfall was temporarily covered by revenue grants from the state government.
In 2016, the Ministry of Finance imposed a 15% service tax on air-conditioned bus fares, raising ticket prices for AC buses by 6%. DTC sought approval from the Delhi government in November 2016 to pass this cost onto commuters, but the Transport Department opposed this, citing concerns over an irrational fare structure and suggesting a broader fare revision.
Despite multiple follow-ups until December 2022, the government failed to act on the proposal. The CAG report revealed that DTC also failed to recover Rs 56.29 crore in service tax and GST paid on AC buses since June 2016, further exacerbating the financial strain.
“The management stated that fare revision is a policy matter for the Transport Department. However, DTC did not accept the proposed revised fares and lost the opportunity to avail the benefit of about Rs 170 crore per year,” the report noted. The CAG also flagged the ongoing financial troubles at DTC, citing a dramatic rise in its cumulative losses, from Rs 25,300 crore in 2015-16 to `60,750 crore in 2021-22.
The report, which was tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the budget session, underscored that the public transporter has failed to prepare a Business Plan or set financial and operational targets to control its losses.
Between 2015 and 2023, DTC’s fleet of buses decreased from 4,344 to 3,937, and only 300 electric buses were procured in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 periods, despite available funds from the government. The audit also pointed out that the DTC has not set any performance benchmarks against other state transport undertakings.