KSRTC Punalur ATO suspended for ignoring Min Ganesh Kumar's new order

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KSRTC on Monday suspended KP Shibu, Assistant Transport Officer, Punalur Unit, from service for disobeying the commands rolled out by the Chairman & Managing Director.

The strict action was made after Shibu showed disregard for the transport minister's directive to curb reckless spending in the Department.

As per the directives, employees were asked to switch off lights and fans when they moved out of the office. This also included ‘Smart Saturday’, which was an initiative rolled out that demanded every employee to clean and arrange the files and other office equipment including surroundings in a neat and orderly manner, every Saturday.

On 05.04.2024, the Vigilance Section of the Punalur Unit of KSRTC found a complete violation of the aforementioned orders. The investigation also found that there has been a serious failure on the part of the unit officer in implementing the order. Subsequently, KSRTC Chairman & Managing Director Shri PS Pramoj Shankar ordered the suspension of the Punalur Unit Officer pending investigation.

During the inspection, the vigilance department found another supervisory error by the unit authority in the service operation as well. It has been observed that many orders issued by the Chairman & Managing Director, aimed at KSRTC's progress, are not being seriously handled or implemented by a certain cabal of employees and officers.

KSRTC in an official response said that the punitive order was taken in mind the gross violation spotted. It was also informed that such inspections will continue across various KSRTC units in Kerala, in the coming days.