In view of widespread allegations of corruption in recruitment to various government departments, Sedam MLA and Chairman of Kalyana Karnataka Transport Corporation (KKRTC) Rajkumar Patil Telkur has said that appointment in the State-owned corporation is fair and transparent.
He paid a visit to KKRTC headquarters in Kalaburagi on Wednesday and took stock of the recruitment process that is under way and advised candidates not to bribe any official or people’s representatives or their agents for jobs.
After signing Memorandums of Understanding, one with the State Bank of India for paying ₹50 lakh insurance amount under the Corporate Salary Package scheme to KKRTC employees upon their death in road accidents and the other with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited for establishing petrol pumps on a rental basis at various places belonging to KKRTC, Mr. Telkur reiterated that the selection of candidates will purely be on merit basis.
“Recruitment for 1,819 posts, including 140 backlog posts, is under way. Recruitment will be completely transparent. You need not pay anything to anybody. If you are physically fit and educationally qualified, you will be selected. As per the provisions of Article 371(J) of the Constitution, 80% of the seats are reserved for Kalyana Karnataka candidates and the reservation of seats is completely computerised leaving no room for any manipulation,” Mr. Telkur said, exuding the confidence of completing the recruitment process by the end of March next year.
Speaking on the expansion plans for KKRTC, Mr. Telkur said that the process of procuring 610 transport buses and 50 sleeper buses through tenders is under way, apart from adding 165 buses with funds provided by Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board. “The entire procurement process is expected to be completed by March next year. These initiatives will further strengthen the State-owned transport corporation,” he said.
On the financial condition of the corporation, Mr. Telkur said that KKRTC is incurring ₹1 crore loss every day. He added that tender is being floated to convert KKRTC’s prime property into commercial centres to augment revenue inflow.
“BPCL has come forward to establish fuel stations on a rental basis at 40-50 locations on property belonging to KKRTC. It will also generate around ₹5 crore. Since the corporation is in critical financial condition, the government recently paid ₹150 crore for the corporation and its employees’ welfare,” Mr. Telkur said.
KKRTC Managing Director M.D. Rachappa, Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Yeshwanth Gurukar and other senior officers were present.
