Thiruvananthapuram: Finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore to revive the sinking Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. The minister, however, gave enough signals to the state-run transporter that this would be its last chance.
The government plans to turn a profit from the corporation within three years. The government has a blueprint this time, based on a report submitted by IIT professor Susheel Khanna last week. The final report will be presented within two weeks.
Khanna has recommended several drastic measures, including the dismissal of excess staff and a reduction in expenses. The government is hopeful of implementing the recommendations, judging by the massive package offered to the corporation in the budget on Friday.
The government has accepted a recommendation to revamp the top management of the corporation to infuse professionalism. Efforts were already on to do away with top managers, who were deemed unqualified for the job. The corporation can expect a complete overhaul before its expenses are in sync with revenue.
The KSRTC has been struggling to pay salaries and pensions every month. The corporation is banking on the government’s promise to disburse as grants half of the amount needed to pay its former employees.
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The government plans to introduce CNG buses to save on its fuel bill. The budget has reinforced the idea.
The government entrusted Prof. Khanna to suggest a bailout package for the corporation on September 24.
The corporation operates 93 depots, including the operations center. It has assets worth Rs 3,670.42 crore but its annual pension bill alone runs up to Rs 675 crore. The government pays Rs 27.5 crore every month as its share in the pension bill.
The corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 1.70 crore in 2015-16.
The corporation was expected to report a profit of Rs 7 crore per day but it earned only Rs 5.5 crore. It operates 5,840 scheduled routes but 3,012 of them generate less than Rs 10,000. As many as 2,866 of them are ordinary buses, which offer concessions to various categories, including students.
As many as 2,89,969 students up to the higher secondary division avail of travel concessions.
The cess imposed by the corporation on passengers has also hit revenue as more people switched to private buses.
The monthly bill
Pay and perks - Rs 85.75 crore
Pension - Rs 55 crore
Pension benefits - Rs 12 crore
Fuel - Rs 75 crore
Loan repayment - Rs 49.22 crore
Other expenses - Rs 291.97 crore
The liabilities
Loans taken from 2011 to 2016 - Rs 5024.51 crore
Breakup as follows
KTDFC - Rs 1,917 crore
Hudco - Rs 314.70 crore
Consortium of banks - Rs 1,300 crore
District Cooperative Bank, Palakkad - Rs 200 crore
Transport Workers’ Society - Rs 10 crore
Government loans - Rs 1,220. 81 crore