A budgetary allocation of ₹1,572 crore to the fund-starved A.P. State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is seen as a “step in the right direction” as it would help the public transport giant to overcome its financial difficulties to some extent.
The budget presented by Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy on Friday brought cheer to the RTC management and union leaders as well.
A sum of ₹1,000 crore was allocated towards financial assistance, ₹500 crore towards reimbursement of concession being extended to various categories of citizens, and ₹50 crore for purchase of new buses. In addition, ₹22 crore was allocated as additional assistance to the transport undertaking.
Fiscal woes
Besides the huge revenue losses the RTC incurs on account of diesel price hike and upward pay revision for employees, concessions extended to the school and college students, senior citizens and differently-abled persons has been adding to its financial woes.
Ironically, the APSRTC faces a grim situation despite outperforming in almost all performance indicators compared to its counterparts in other States. The APSRTC’s occupancy ratio (OR) has gone up to 78%, the highest in the country, which is followed by TSRTC (72.79%) and KSRTC (71.8 %).
‘Happy and grateful’
“We are happy and grateful to the government for giving us ₹1,000 crore this year against ₹540 crore the previous year. This will help us address problems to some extent. Judicious use of funds is imperative, and we look forward to more such support from the government,” said N.V. Surendra Babu, VC and MD of the corporation.
C. Anjaneya Reddy, chairman of the expert committee on merger, called it a “good beginning.”
“The APSRTC will still fall short of funds, but it can clear some outstanding dues. But the ultimate solution lies in revision of bus fares,” he said reiterated, suggesting that the government should level the employee’s salaries across all the corporations.
“There should be a common pay commission for all the government undertakings to bring about parity between them,” he added.
Leaders of the Employees’ Union also hailed the budget.
