THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after KSRTC managing director Biju Prabhakar made a scathing attack on a section of employees who, he alleged, are exploiting the corporation, he reiterated his stance on Sunday and stressed the need to bring in professional management at the top to save the public sector utility from its current crisis. In a Facebook live, he assured the employees that he had never castigated them en masse.
“Only five per cent of the employees are engaged in various malpractices and those big sharks were upset with my remarks on Saturday. It is sad to note that some senior officials in the main corporation office do not even speak with each other. How can the corporation stage a strong comeback when a section of officials who take vital decisions in the corporation are not interested in the official affairs?” he asked.
“In Vadakara depot, a staffer had evaded duty for 120 days saying he was in a containment zone. He is still with the corporation. A section of officials show no sense of responsibility or accountability. The inefficient top and middle management cadre are a curse of KSRTC. It should change and a professional management has to be put in place. The new subsidiary company, KSRTC-SWIFT, proposed for operating buses funded by KIIFB is one such decision to handle affairs in a professional manner,” he said.
The recommendations of the Sushil Khanna committee for reducing expenses and enhancing non-ticket revenue will have to be implemented and those who raise a banner of revolt against the revival and modernisation of KSRTC will not have any place in the corporation.
At the same time, he reiterated that no employee will be fired on account of poor performance but a reshuffle is imperative. Despite the success of CNG-powered buses, KSRTC officials are not interested in bringing in change in the fleet. “Come what may, the corporation will go ahead with the plan of switching to CNG,” he said.
Finance Inspection Wing for detailed probe
T’Puram: The Finance Inspection Wing has recommended a detailed probe into the anomalies detected in KSRTC accounts. Its investigation found that the corporation’s headquarters, the chief office, did not have official records pertaining to the Rs 100.75 crore spent between 2010 and 2013. Not only that, the investigation team could not find statements regarding transactions carried out between the chief office and depots during the period. Four persons, including executive director K M Sreekumar, were named by the FIW in this connection.