IT initiatives, e-payment, e-tendering, and e-auction, adopted by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have helped the utility save money and manpower at a time of financial crisis.
To ensure financial discipline and transparency, cash payment has been abolished and all payments of the transport utility have been made through bank. It has adopted the RTGS mode for cash transfers. Sources said the corporation had been able to save “90 manpower” with the disbursement of salary, wages, and pension through the bank. The practice of posting personnel for paying salary and wages of staff in the 92 depots for five days a month had been done away with.
The State Bank of Travancore, coordinating bank, had waived cash handling charges, which helped the corporation save Rs.1.25 crore annually, a top KSRTC official told The Hindu .
The utility also had been exempted from paying demand draft charges. The salary, wages, and pension would reach the savings bank account of beneficiaries on the same day of remittance.
Employees and pensioners were alerted by SMS on the disbursal of salary and pension. The SBT had also granted a loan of Rs.1 lakh to those on the rolls without guarantee and undertaking. The bank had disbursed loans to the tune of Rs.250 crore to the KSRTC personnel, the sources said.
The fuel bills were also being settled the next day as the utility was depending on 152 private pumps, including seven Supplyco outlets, for diesel for the 6,000-odd fleet. The process was being monitored at the depot, zonal, and chief office-level before the payment was made by 3 p.m. the next day through e-payment.
e-auction was being done by the Central PSU Metals Scraps Trading Corporation Ltd. Introduced in 2012, the system had helped the KSRTC generate 50 per cent more revenue compared to the conventional auction .
e-tendering introduced through the IT Mission since August 2013 had resulted in the utility getting competitive rates for civil works for various projects.
