The
Opposition on Monday staged a walkout in the Kerala Assembly accusing the state
government of failing to tackle the crisis gripping the Kerala Road Transport
Corporation. Seeking leave for an adjournment motion, CPI-M MLA Elamaram Kareem
said the salaries of about 46,000 permanent and temporary employees were
delayed for the first time and were given after more than a week. Seeking leave
for the motion, Mr. Elamaram Kareem said the Government had not approached the
issue with seriousness forgetting that KSRTC was the biggest public utility in
the state on which people depend heavily for travelling.
 |
| "Rather than blaming one another, there is a
need to put our heads together and work out a solution", said Transport Minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan |
“About 37,000 pensioners
are concerned, payments to them are in arrears for about two months. When we
[CPI-M] ruled [2006-11], a delay never happened. The state government is not
sincere and is only talking about working out a rehabilitation package but no
action is forthcoming,”
said Mr. Kareem. Mr. Kareem blamed Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s Government
and said it has come to a stage where KSRTC land at several places has been
pledged and it is this money which is being used to keep the largest state
public sector company afloat.
Responding
to the notice given by Mr. Elamaram Kareem, the Transport Minister Mr. Thiruvanchur
Radhakrishnan said the Government approached the issue with seriousness and had
already taken measures to overcome the problems plaguing the KSRTC, the biggest
public utility in the state. He said the state government is committed to the
development of the KSRTC and its employees as it provides transport to hundreds
of thousands of people daily.
Pending
salary of the employees had been disbursed and some long-term measures to resolve
the financial crisis in the state-run company were also under consideration,
Radhakrishnan said.
There
was a wide mismatch between the revenue and expenditure in the operations of
KSRTC. The government aimed at increasing the daily collection of the corporation
from Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 7.5 crore, the minister said.
“Your Government (the LDF government during 2006-11)
during the five-year period gave only Rs599 crore Today the situation is such
that there is a huge gap in the daily collection and expenses. The yearly loss
of the KSRTC has crossed Rs. 519 crore,” said Radhakrishnan.
“We (the government) have decided to
restructure the loans of the KSRTC, as most of them are those where the
interest rates are as high as 16.25 per cent. We are in talks with other
lending institutions and expect to save Rs. 120 crore if the loans are
restructured,”
he said.
“We will ensure that
about 1,900 new buses are put into service, besides retiring an equal number of
vehicles. We will do a complete rescheduling of routes and increase the
non-operating revenue,” said Radhakrishnan.
“During your time, land
was pledged as collateral security for loans taken and you should understand
that Rs. 600 crore has been the outflow for building shopping complexes and it
has not earned the desired income. So rather thanblaming one another, there is a
need to put our heads together and work out a solution,” said Radhakrishnan.
In
view of the Minister’s reply, Deputy Speaker of the Kerala Assembly, N. Sakhtan
rejected the notice for adjournment on the issue moved by Mr. Elamaram Kareem,
following which the LDF members staged a walkout. Leading his colleagues out, Leader
of the Opposition, Mr. V.S. Achuthanandan said the financial aid sanctioned by
the government was too meagre.
No comments:
Post a Comment