CHENNAI: Charging that the Centre had failed to come to the rescue of debt-ridden State government, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced a hike in the bus fare and Aavin milk price and indicated the power tariff would go up soon. The hike is scheduled to take effect from Friday, said sources. She said the hike was unavoidable against the backdrop of losses made by PSUs — the State transport corporations, Aavin and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.Addressing the public on Jaya TV after a Cabinet meeting, the CM submitted a virtual white paper on the financial status of TNEB, the transport corporations and Aavin and said the maladministration of the previous DMK regime had pushed the PSUs to huge losses and to the brink of collapse.Now, the retail price of standardised Aavin milk is hiked from Rs 17.75 to Rs 24 per litre, while the procurement price for cow’s milk is enhanced from Rs 18 to Rs 20 per litre, and for buffalo milk from Rs 26 to Rs 28.As far as bus fares are concerned, for ordinary mofussil buses, it goes from 28 paise to 42 paise per km. For express and semi deluxe buses (suburban), the hike is from 32 paise to 56 paise and for super deluxe and luxury suburban buses, it goes from 38 paise to 60 paise. For ultra deluxe buses in sub-urban areas, the rate changes from 52 paise to 70 paise per km.On city buses, the base fare shows a marginal rise from Rs 2 to Rs 3 and the maximum fare sees a hike of `5—it was `7 till now and will be raised to Rs 12 in areas other than Chennai. In the state capital, the same will be changed from Rs 12 to Rs 14.On the power crisis, she said the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Authority would soon announce a hiked tariff. However, free supply to farmers and weavers and households using one bulb will continue. Subsidy for domestic users — except high-end consumers — will remain.
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