‘Only Thevara has all infrastructure for KUTC’
Shifting the hub of the proposed Kerala Urban Transport Corporation from Thevera would result in the state losing central aid of Rs 202 crore
Kochi: Shifting the hub of the proposed Kerala Urban Transport Corporation from Thevera would result in the state losing central aid of Rs 202 crore, cautioned Antony Jacob, Managing Director of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation.“There are certain conditions to be fulfilled like the KUTC should be an independent body under the Local Self government.
The hub should have a garage and other office buildings. The land should be leased out by the KSRTC. At present Thevera is the only option we have with the infrastructure,” he said.
Earlier, one of the Left-affiliated unions had opposed setting up of the hub in Thevara and demanded that it should be set up in the state capital.The formation of a special purpose vehicle was the main condition put forward by the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee on Urban Infrastructure and Governance in September last before releasing the funds for purchase of 400 low-floor buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
“We have 320 of the buses at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam depots.The Centre would provide another Rs190 crore for purchasing the remaining buses and '10 crore towards infrastructure,” said Jacob, who is also slated to be the Managing Director of the new corporation.
All other formalities, except a letter by the state government stating its willingness to meet any operational losses of the KUTC, have been completed. “We expect the state to provide the letter by Tuesday and soon thereafter the new corporation will function out of Thevara ,” he said.
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