Chandigarh: Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar has termed as baseless the claims of bias or irregularities regarding the leasing of different parts of Ludhiana Bus Stand, saying that Ludhiana Bus Stand was on overall lease before December 10, 2021, whereas now different parts of the place have been leased. He said that this policy is being followed since the time of previous governments and on the same lines other bus stands of Punjab have also been leased.
The Transport Minister clarified and appealed for refraining from unfounded news and misleading propaganda, saying that the construction work of the Ludhiana bus stand was done by the Wellsampan Company in the year 2006 on BOT (Bundle Operate and Transfer). This company operated the bus stand on BOT basis till the year 2016. After this, the Ludhiana bus stand was again given to the Mess.LRY Company in the year 2018 on MOT (Maintenance Operate and Transfer) basis.
He said that due to the Corona pandemic in the year 2020, the concession fee due by the Mess.LRY company was not deposited with the department, due to which the agreement of this company was suspended by the department and the maintenance of the bus stand Ludhiana was being done by Punbus at its own level from December 10, 2021.
He further said that the collection of the fee of this bus stand is also done by the department at its own level. To collect this bus stand fee, 15 employees (conductors-sub-inspectors) were deployed by the depot at different points of the bus stand. The bus stand fee was collected daily by these employees and the expenses of salary and stationery etc. of these employees were also borne by the department itself.
Laljit Singh Bhullar said that as per the orders of the head office, online e-auction was conducted by the depot 08 times to pay this bus stand fee on contract.
Accordingly, an e-auction was conducted on 01 August, 2025. A total of 04 bidders participated in this online e-auction and out of these 04 bidders, Arjun Yadav & Company bid the highest price of Rs. 4401000 plus GST. 51,93,180/-. The Arjun Yadav & Company has deposited the amount of Rs. 100298340/- (One Crore Two Lakh Ninety Eight Thousand Three Hundred Forty Rupees) in two installments in the account of the Advance Depot.
The contract for the Adda fee has been made with this company for a period of 06 months or till the time of taking up the overall bus stand contract. This entire process of advance e-auction has been done by the MSTC Company as per the government instructions. After the work of Adda Fee Collection was outsourced, the conductor and sub-inspector staff of the depot who were deployed on Adda Fee collection have been redeployed to their earlier duties.
Laljit Singh Bhullar further informed that to ensure efficiency and transparency, the Transport Department conducted seven e-auctions for the leasing of Adda on contractual basis and in the most recent eighth auction held on August 1, 2025, Arjan Yadav & Company (#156, New Grain Market, Salim Tabri, Ludhiana-141008, Punjab) emerged as the highest bidder. Thus, after a transparent and stipulated process, the successful bidder has deposited the due amount. He informed that as per the agreement, the contractor has taken over the work of collecting bus stand fee from November 1, 2025.
Laljit Singh Bhullar assured that every step has been taken with utmost transparency and in accordance with the rules. The decision to outsource the collection of Adda fee was taken with the aim of streamlining the process, reducing administrative burden and generating revenue for the government exchequer. He also reiterated his commitment to serve the people of Punjab with full dedication and transparency.
