Government grants Rs 191 crore to KSRTC to settle pension and salary arrears

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has sanctioned Rs 191 crore to KSRTC to settle pension and salary arrears. Out of this, Rs 146 crore is for settling pension liabilities. In addition to the Rs 30 crore sanctioned earlier this month, another Rs 15 crore was given for salaries.

The partial payment of salaries began on the 20th of December when the workers were on the verge of going on strike. However, the pension has not been paid. Pensioners are on strike in front of the secretariat in protest.

The pension was disbursed through a consortium of co-operative banks. Primary co-operative Societies will distribute pension. This amount was later paid by the government. Co-operatives had stopped distributing pensions following lapses on the government's part. Rs 146 crore sanctioned by the government at present will be transferred to the co-operative banks. It may take two days to complete the procedure. The distribution of pensions is likely to start only on Monday.

Due to the financial crisis, the salaries were paid in stages this time. The government had sanctioned Rs 30 crore in early December. An additional amount of Rs 30 crore was demanded showing that the amount was insufficient. For this, another Rs 15 crore was sanctioned. With this, the government provided Rs 45 crore as financial assistance for December salaries. With no money to buy spare parts, more buses could not be put on the road. With the shift of buses to Sabarimala special services, travel on other long-distance routes has become more congested.