Tough days are ahead for the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Its fuel bill has mounted to Rs.104 crore and the State transport utility is struggling to mobilise funds for payment of pension on November 15.
Dropping of daily ticket sales to under Rs.5 crore in the 6,304-strong fleet is worrying the management. The sole solace is that Indian Oil Corporation has extended the deadline to pay fuel bill credit from 30 days to 60 days.
“It has to be seen what the management will do when the extended period ends. More than 90 per cent of the high speed diesel needed for the fleet is provided by the Indian Oil Corporation, 6 per cent by HP, and the remaining by BPCL directly to the depots in the State,” sources in the KSRTC said.
Lone operator
The utility needs urgent fire-fighting measures as the Mandala Makaravilakku season in Sabarimala is only days away. The KSRTC is the lone operator of services from the State and outside to Pampa and the chain services from Nilackal to Pampa.
With the government not extending additional financial assistance as during the UDF tenure, it is almost certain that the utility will not be able to pay the monthly pension due on November 15. The KSRTC has to remit 50 per cent of the Rs.55 crore needed for paying pension. “Only if the KSRTC provides Rs.27.5 crore, will the government give the matching amount. In the present situation, mobilising Rs.27.5 crore is a tough task for the utility,” sources said.
Chairman and Managing Director M.D. Rajamanickam has decided to pull out services that do not generate Rs.10,000 a day. The average daily operated kilometres has gone up from 16.25 in 2015 to 16.83 this year. But the average earnings per kilometre has gone down from Rs.34.89 in 2015 to Rs. 29.67 this year. The average earnings per bus has dwindled from Rs.11,518 in 2015 to Rs.9,918 this year.
