Jorhat, Oct. 20: Two bus terminuses have come up “face-to-face” on the western outskirts of the town on either side of Assam Trunk Road in what could be termed as short-sighted planning by the government and government-aided agencies.
The inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) being constructed by the Assam Transport Corporation (ASTC) is nearing completion while the public bus terminus constructed by the Jorhat Development Authority, lying defunct for the past six years, is now on the verge of being taken over by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (Hudco).
The JDA had not been able to repay the loan amounting to Rs 1.35 crore sanctioned in 2001. At present, the development authority owes Rs 2.3 crore to Hudco, which in the early part of this year had filed a case at the debt recovery tribunal (of the Centre) in Guwahati.
It had, last year, also filed two cases in a lower court in Guwahati against the development authority after post-dated cheques issued as repayment instalments bounced.
The Jorhat Development Authority now has approached Hudco to settle the issue by paying the debt amount in a single payment within November 2010.
The authority in its plea to the financial institution, has urged to waive a major part of the interest, considering the losses it suffered because of non-plying of private buses from the terminus since it was opened in 2004.
The construction of the Jorhat Development Authority bus terminus on 14 bighas of land was started in early 2002. The terminus has one building with 20 shops facing the road on the ground floor and a petrol pump.
The Jorhat Development Authority failed to repay the loan instalments as private buses refused to ply from the terminus located about 3km away from the town and moved Gauhati High Court.
Though the bus owners lost the case in 2008 and the district administration closed the private bus stand in the heart of the town, the administration did not succeed in making the private buses ply from the terminus. The bus owners resisted the move and didn’t use the terminus.
Once the ISBT is opened, which is scheduled by the end of next month, the ASTC bus station will be shifted from the town and the district administration had assured the development authority to implement plying of private-public transport passenger vehicles from its JDA terminus.
JDA chairman Padma Nath Sarmah told The Telegraph that in response to their petition to Hudco to arrive at a settlement under a one-time payment by waiving a major part of the interest from the total amount due (Rs 2.3 crore), the latter had sent a proposal to the JDA.
Sarmah said Hudco recently had offered JDA to pay Rs 1.75 crore within the next month and to settle the issue. He said the development authority would like to take the opportunity and request the financial institution, if possible, to reduce the amount.
“We have to save the property, worth about Rs 20 crore, from being taken away,” Sarmah said.
Jorhat deputy commissioner R.C. Jain said once the ASTC station started functioning, all vehicles have to ply from the JDA bus terminus.
