Kochi: Having taken a huge loan from the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC), the cash-strapped Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has made elaborate plans to escape the debt trap and save Rs 120 crore per year.
The strategy involves taking a low-interest loan of Rs 200 crore from the Palakkad District Co-operative Bank and another Rs 2,200 crore from a consortium of 15 nationalised banks on a daily repayment mode with the KSRTC pledging its immovable assets, including the Edapal workshop.
“The KSRTC currently owes KTDFC about Rs 1,500 crore which involves an interest component of 16. 25 per cent. By settling the loan , it will save about Rs 120 crore a year. The fresh loans we take will be at a much lower interest rate of 11. 5 per cent,” explained a senior officer of the transport corporation.
The daily repayment will be done electronically with nearly Rs 10 lakh transferred from the KSRTC bank accounts to the cooperative bank every day. “To repay Rs 10 lakh from a daily average collection of Rs 5.45 crore is not a big deal and the loan will be fully repaid in five- and-a half to six years,” he said.
The transport corporatoin has worked out an agreement with the Palakkad district co-operative bank, despite a few hiccups. “While the loan is being taken by pledging the Edapal workshop, the documents of the 54-acre workshop are missing or rather have been misplaced,” the officer revealed, adding that the issue would be resolved soon.
