ASTC will monetize all of its property across state: Minister Keshab Mahanta

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has many landed property across the state, and some of these have not been commercially exploited. So, the state government has decided to monetise all such property to maximize the earning of revenue for the benefit of the beleaguered corporation.

After obtaining the approval of the state government, ASTC engaged a consultancy firm to survey the condition and status of the properties across the state. The firm was also directed to forward suggestions on how to monetize all such property, including the bus stations of ASTC. The consultancy firm, in its turn, inspected each and every property and submitted a report to the ASTC. The ASTC, in turn, forwarded the report to the state government with their opinion on the matter.

Speaking to the media, recently appointed Transport Minister Keshab Mahanta said, “The ASTC survey is complete, and all the land, buildings, and other property have been examined. We are adopting a plan to minimize the loss being suffered by ASTC. During the survey, it was determined that there is a lot of property, but it has not been commercially used. We want to ascertain that not a single property should lie idle. For each property, there is a plan submitted on how best to monetize a particular property. The plan is now under consideration, and we will discuss it with the CM to give it a final shape. This will obviously be a huge exercise and will take some time because a policy decision is required to determine whether the government will do it alone or in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.”

Sources said there are proposals to set up hotels, stalls, parking areas, and other business establishments. It was also pointed out that most of the properties are located on national highways or near highways. 

Also Read: Rash driving, lack of maintenance mar ASTC electric bus services in Guwahati (sentinelassam.com)

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