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Free ride, empty coffers: PRTC reels under ₹284-cr cash crunch
Corporation seeks immediate release of ₹151cr in pending reimbursements from govt under women free travel scheme
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The Punjab government’s free women travel scheme has left the PEPSU Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) facing a severe cash crunch, with the state-owned undertaking spending around ₹30 crore every month on the scheme while a substantial part of its reimbursement claims remains pending with the state government.
With just ₹4 crore left in its coffers against immediate liabilities of nearly ₹284 crore, the cash crunch has raised concerns over the corporation’s ability to meet salary, pensions and other statutory payments.
PRTC operates around 1,500 buses and employs nearly 4,000 people, including 3,000 outsourced workers, while its monthly expenditure on salaries and pensions is around ₹35 crore.
The PRTC management has sought an immediate release of ₹151 crore from the remaining budget estimates for 2026-27 towards reimbursement of claims under the free women travel scheme. It has also sought an additional budget provision of ₹500 crore during the current financial year to keep its operations financially afloat.
Started in 2021, scheme
costs ₹1.37 crore a day
Introduced by the previous Congress government in 2021, the scheme covers PUNBUS, Punjab Roadways, PRTC and city bus services operated by local bodies. Women and girls, who are residents of Punjab, can avail themselves of the facility by producing proof of residence, such as an Aadhaar card or voter ID.
Nearly three lakh women travel free on government buses every day, according to PRTC, with the scheme costing an estimated ₹1.37 crore a day. PRTC puts the monthly expenditure on the scheme at around ₹30 crore.
According to an urgent communication sent by the corporation to the state government, its monthly earnings from ticket sales and other miscellaneous sources are largely consumed by recurring expenditure on diesel, maintenance and the day-to-day operation of the fleet, leaving little cash to meet other liabilities.
The communication, a copy of which is with HT, said the corporation’s immediate financial liabilities stood at around ₹284 crore. These include around ₹30 crore towards arrears, ₹20 crore as margin money required for bank finance to procure new buses, and nearly ₹30 crore towards salaries and pensions for August 2026.
Against the 2026-27 budget estimates of around ₹300 crore for reimbursement under the scheme, PRTC has received only ₹149.08 crore to date. The entire amount, the corporation said, has already been utilised towards the payment of salaries, pensions and other statutory liabilities up to July 2026.
₹615 cr claims pending
The financial strain is further compounded by mounting reimbursement claims. As of June 30, PRTC’s outstanding claims against the Punjab government stood at around ₹615 crore. With claims for the remaining period of the current financial year yet to be added, the outstanding amount is projected to reach around ₹915 crore.
Even if the immediate demand of ₹151 crore is released, the pending reimbursements would still stand at around ₹765 crore, highlighting the scale of the cash-flow problem.
PRTC has urged the transport department to approach the finance department for exemption from quarterly expenditure restrictions and the immediate release of ₹151 crore from the remaining budget allocation. It has also sought an additional provision of ₹500 crore to ensure the timely payment of salaries, pensions, statutory liabilities and essential operational expenses, the communication said.
PRTC chairman Harpal Juneja, however, played down the concerns, saying there was no major financial crisis. “There are no such financial issues since I took charge around six months ago. I am meeting the transport minister later today and will urge him to release the pending amount,” he said.
Union warns of stir
PRTC workers’ action committee convener Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal warned that the corporation could be forced to ‘shut down’ if its financial position was not addressed urgently.
He said the workers had demanded recovery of ₹600-700 crore due from the Punjab government towards reimbursement for free travel facilities. The committee, he added, would hold a protest rally outside the PRTC head office in Patiala in the second week of September against what it termed the negative and indifferent attitude of the PRTC management and the Punjab government.
Transport minister Harpal Cheema, who also holds the finance portfolio, did not respond to repeated calls and messages seeking his response.
