Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has pledged to bring the financially struggling Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) back to profitability within two years. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, Sarnaik expressed firm confidence in his reform plans for the state-run transport body, which has been incurring losses for decades. “Within the next two years, I will surely turn around the MSRTC and bring it to profit,” Sarnaik said, stressing his commitment to accountability and structural reforms. “The MSRTC and the transport department were neglected in the past, but since I’ve taken charge, we’ve introduced radical positive changes in their functioning,” he added. According to a white paper released in June, the corporation’s accumulated losses surged to Rs 103.24 billion in 2023–24 from Rs 46.03 billion in 2018–19. The MSRTC has recorded profits in only eight of the past 45 financial years. Established in 1948, the MSRTC operates India’s largest bus fleet with over 15,000 buses, serving more than 5.5 million commuters daily. Often regarded as the lifeline of Maharashtra, the MSRTC plays a vital role in connecting over 90 per cent of the state’s villages with their respective district headquarters. It also links rural areas with major urban centres such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Solapur, and Kolhapur. Sarnaik, who represents Thane in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, also addressed the worsening traffic congestion along the Mumbai–Ahmedabad National Highway, particularly in Thane and Palghar districts. He attributed the gridlocks to heavy truck movement serving warehouses in Bhiwandi. “More than a dozen trucks are loaded and unloaded daily in Bhiwandi godowns, which has severely affected traffic in and around Thane,” he explained. Earlier this week, the highway witnessed a massive traffic jam, leaving over 500 students and commuters stranded for nearly 12 hours. Separately, Sarnaik announced a welfare initiative to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday. As part of the programme, 75,000 Diwali kits containing food grains, oil, and festive essentials are being distributed to families in his Ovla–Majiwada constituency. “We have already distributed around 21,000 kits,” he said.