KSRTC requests govt. not to cut down Plan fund

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has requested the State government not to cut down the Plan fund for the State-run public utility, Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar has said.

Speaking to the media on Monday, the Minister said the Corporation has asked the Finance department not to cut down the Plan fund while stressing that the electric bus introduced in the city has come to a growth track with an increase in revenue in tune with the reforms brought in the operation of the electric buses.

The KSRTC was going ahead with the proposal of procuring 370 diesel buses, chiefly eyeing the promised Plan fund for the year. However, the Plan fund was cut down by 50% to ₹46 crore initially, and there was no guarantee that the corporation would get the remaining 50% considering the precarious financial situation of the State government.

Meanwhile, the Minister termed the protest strike staged by the Transport Democratic Federation (TDF), the Congress-affiliated trade union, blocking the entry of officials at the KSRTC headquarters on Monday, as a farce. All the unions are aware of the fact that the salary would be credited today. The corporation has been crediting the salaries of the employees in single instalments for the last two months. Despite facing a financial crunch, the corporation has been trying hard to pay the employees.

Despite being aware of all these facts, the political drama staged by the TDF should have been avoided, the Minister said. He also said that the corporation would strive hard to credit the salary of employees on the first of every month.

Published - November 18, 2024 08:46 pm IST