Sivasagar, Aug. 22: Assam State Transport Corporation managing director Anand Prakash Tiwari today hinted at reviewing and revising all contracts of the leased premises of the corporation.

Tiwari, a 2004 batch IPS official, was recently appointed the managing director of the corporation.

He told reporters on the ASTC premises here today that contract period of the leased premises and all commercial activities of the corporation would be reviewed and brought on a par with the market rates. He also visited different ASTC premises across the state and met its officials and employees.

"There is a timeframe for the contracts of the leased premises and we will review the contracts and make fresh lease agreements at the market rate. We obviously anticipate some repercussion, but we will handle the issues by sitting together with the officials and the stakeholders," he said.

The move is expected to increase the corporation's revenue, which according to the present transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, has incurred Rs 700-crore loss since its inception.

Most of the commercial premises of the ASTC are rented out to vendors at a very low rent and in most cases the vendors sub-lease them at the market price. The move to revise contacts will put an end to this malpractice.

The corporation, which was on the verge of closure earlier too, was revived by the transport minister in Congress government, Anjan Dutta.

Setting income hike as his top priority, Tiwari said there are scopes for revenue generation in both traffic and non-traffic segments for the corporation. "There is a huge pool of resources of the ASTC in the form of fixed assets. I am planning to utilise these properties for revenue generating purpose," he said.

"We can lease out space on the ASTC premises and buses for advertisement. We can work to increase commercial activity in the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Initially, we plan to utilise the already constructed buildings of the corporation. After that we shall explore the unutilised land where we can construct shopping malls, multiplex, advertisement points," he said.

Indicating that he has no plan to increase fare or stop the free passes provided by the corporation, Tiwari said, "Since ASTC was formed as a public service, we have to minimise the income deficit from traffic and at the same time focus on generating more revenue from the non-traffic segment."

He said many state transport corporations in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have performed well. "We will study their business models to adopt a foolproof operative method," he said.

Tiwari said he has directed the corporation officials to prepare a detailed study of the status of the vehicles.

"The vehicles that have not been running because of minor defects will be repaired and pressed into service immediately. Fleet management is an important task and all vehicles at the disposal of the ASTC will be brought on road after sorting out the problems," he added.