THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The finance department has sanctioned Rs 130 crore as additional assistance to the ailing KSRTC to pay salaries and pension. Finance minister T. M. Thomas Isaac issued a directive to the additional chief secretary (finance) K. M. Abraham on Tuesday directing him to sanction the amount from the non-plan fund. Of this amount, Rs 100 crore will be additional and Rs 30 crore monthly financial assistance provided by the finance department to KSRTC for paying the salaries and pension. The ailing public transport corporation required nearly Rs 65 crore to pay monthly pension and another Rs 85 crore for salaries.
The failure of the management to mobilise funds was affecting 38,000 employees, wages of 4,000 empanelled staff, and 36,000 pensioners. One of the factors identified by Professor Sushil Khanna of IIM Kolkata appointed by the state for restructuring the KSRTC was the high number of crew per bus compared to other transport undertakings in the country. The number of crew per bus in KSRTC is 7.8, which should be brought down to 6.5 to overcome the crisis. He also proposed the appointment of chartered accountant, automobile engineer, and IT expert on contract for giving the KSRTC a professional approach.
