A private bus owner from Erode has filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking an interim stay on the Tamil Nadu government’s expanded free travel scheme for women on state-run buses, now titled ‘Vetri Payanam’.
The scheme, earlier implemented as ‘Vidiyal Payanam’ during the previous DMK government, has been renamed and expanded. Chief Minister Vijay launched the revamped programme on October 2, under which women can travel free of cost on more than 12,600 government buses operating across the state.
In his petition, the bus owner, identified as Kalamani, contended that the expanded scheme would lead to revenue losses for private bus operators and could force them to shut down their businesses. He also stated that the government is bearing an annual fare burden of about Rs 6,000 crore for the scheme.
The petitioner further claimed that the state did not accept the request of private bus owners’ associations to extend the scheme to private buses with compensation. He also alleged that no government order has been issued for the scheme despite an announcement in the Assembly.
The matter is listed for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurgan.
