THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On the day of assuming office, Transport Minister Thomas Chandy on Saturday launched his efforts to salvage the debt-ridden state transport corporation. Incidentally, the KSRTC got the new minister on its anniversary. What’s more? On the day he took charge, the government issued financial sanction for Rs 3,000 crore earmarked in the budget.
Soon after the swearing-in at the Raj Bhavan on Saturday, Chandy said the government should bear the entire financial burden of KSRTC’s pension arrears. “Currently the burden is being shared between the government and the KSRTC. If the government takes the responsibility, it will help the employees. That’s the proposal,” Chandy said.
Making his stance clear in running KSRTC as a public utility service, Thomas Chandy said his focus would be to salvage the corporation and not to convert it into a profit-oriented establishment. Operating the corporation by suffering huge loss should be avoided, he said.
“It’s a public utility service and it should continue to be so. But the huge loss in running the corporation should be avoided. Let’s have a small profit so that KSRTC can take care of its own running. We should make it a public-friendly service,” he said. The minister also referred to the Sushil Khanna report on supporting the corporation.
Responding to queries, the Transport Minister also promised to look into the demand for bringing in uniformity in driving test for licence issuing. Complaints that the new procedures launched by the Motor Vehicles Department have been creating two types of driving test will be examined, he said.