HYDERABAD: A recent response to an RTI filed by a researcher has revealed that the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has been receiving only half the budgetary allocations than what it has been seeking for the last 5 years. This is especially true when it sought Rs 534 crore to buy new buses, but received only Rs 227 crore, exposing a glaring divide in priorities. The RTI filed by GSR Chaitanya reveals the information on the budgetary allocations sought and the amount released to the TSRTC under three primary categories.
In one of the category, the information sought is about the loans given to TSRTC to purchase new buses. Under this category, the budget sought in the last five years are Rs 159.73 crore, Rs 159.74 crore, Rs 40 crore, Rs 140 crore and Rs 35 crore respectively. However, the amount released for the cash strapped corporation was Rs 72 crore, Rs 39 crore, Rs 10 crore, Rs 70 crore and Rs 35 crore respectively.
It was only in 2018-19 when the corporation got what it wanted to buy new buses. In another category of reimbursement for concession schemes, the revised budget estimates by the departments from the last 3 financial years from 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 have been Rs 110 crore, Rs 520 crore and Rs 390 crore. However the actual released amount was even lesser than required by the corporation and it was Rs 27 crore, Rs 260 crore and Rs 130 crore respectively for 3 years.
A third category also shows that the TSRTC which takes loans from government to cover its regular expenses got far lower than what it sought. In the five years they sought Rs 1255.41 crore but received merely, Rs 1123.62 crore only.