BENGALURU: Although Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has earmarked Rs 2,800 crore for his ambitious ‘Shakti’ scheme in the budget, the total zero ticket value of women passengers recorded till November 5 was Rs 2,143 crore. With five more months for this financial year to end, transport corporations maintain that the fund may last only till December.
A KSRTC official said, “We were of the assumption that the number of women passengers taking the free bus ride would come down a few days after the scheme’s implementation. But this did not happen. The number remains steady.
We did not expect the scheme to receive such an overwhelming response. The government pays this ticket value to the bus corporations every month. The allocation for the scheme will have to be enhanced.”
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said more funds will be allocated for the scheme in December. “Taking into account the total ticket value recorded till December, we will allocate more funds.”
Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya money by 20th of month
The state government has announced that money to beneficiaries of Gruha Lakshmi and Anna Bhagya schemes will be transferred to their bank accounts by 20th of every month. In a circular, the Finance Department directed the Food and Civil Supplies (Anna Bhagya) and Women and Child Welfare (Gruha Lakshmi) departments to complete the process between 10th and 15th of every month.