Free travel for women on KSRTC’s ordinary services initially, decides Kerala Cabinet

The Kerala Cabinet announced that the "Priyadarshini" scheme, offering free KSRTC ordinary bus travel for women and transgenders, will launch on June 15. Chief Minister V D Satheesan stated the government will bear the ₹800 crore annual cost

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said the Cabinet has decided that the Indira guarantee of free bus travel for women will initially be available on KSRTC’s ordinary services from June 15.

Satheesan, at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting chaired by him, said that the concession, called ‘Priyadarshini’, in its current format will cost the KSRTC over Rs 60 crore per month or around Rs 800 crore annually and will be borne by the state government.

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The CM said that the concession will be available for women of all ages and all walks of life, irrespective of their financial background or income, and for transgenders also

He said that at present the government was giving around Rs 1,500 crore annually to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for meeting its salary and pension requirements.

“So, in addition to the Rs 1,500 crore already being given to KSRTC, the government will also give it Rs 800 crore for the scheme,” he said.

The CM further said that the KSRTC has been asked to adopt various measures in the next six months to increase its revenue generation and it has agreed.

“Once that happens, we can move to the next phase of the scheme,” he said.

The government will take steps, like buying more buses and starting additional services, to improve revenue generation of KSRTC and make it profitable, he said.

“This is just the first phase of the scheme. Once the financial health of KSRTC improves by increasing its revenue generation, we will consider moving to the next phase of the initiative,” he said.

It will be reviewed every month, including the less number of KSRTC buses in Malabar region and how many women use ordinary buses and where, and if required, alternatives will be considered, the CM said.

The five Indira guarantees, announced by Rahul Gandhi during the assembly poll campaign in March this year, comprised free KSRTC bus travel for women, a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 for girl students in colleges, an increase in welfare pension to Rs 3,000, health insurance coverage up to Rs 25 lakh per household, and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for young entrepreneurs.

He had also announced the creation of a separate department for elderly people as part of the guarantees.

The Kerala Cabinet in its first meeting had decided to implement the free travel concession for women and creation of a dedicated department for elderly people.

During his press conference, Satheesan further said that the last LDF government, before coming to power, had promised to increase the welfare pension to Rs 2,500 crore.

“However, for four-and-a-half-years, the government did nothing and just before the local body polls, it increased the pension from Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,000. But media never questions it,” he said.

With regard to queries regarding the government’s plans for the next five years, he said that he will be presenting the budget soon.

Satheesan also said that the previous Left government in its last budget had plans for Rs 35,000 crore worth projects, but there was a shortfall of around Rs 20,500 crore when the new administration took charge because the 16th Finance Commission decided not to provide any revenue deficit grant.

Besides that, the central government also reduced the tax devolution from the expected 2.8 per cent to 2.32 per cent, causing a shortfall of around Rs 5,000 crore, he claimed.

The CM said that the availability of revenue deficit grants and tax devolution of 2.8 per cent were all “guessworks” by the previous Finance Minister K N Balagopal, a contention which has been refuted by the latter.

Satheesan said that Balagopal expected that Kerala will get a revenue deficit grant of over Rs 14,000 crore from the 16th Finance Commission and 2.8 per cent tax devolution.

“That is the unexpected fiscal situation we are facing. We have to now find Rs 20,500 crore. No government in the history of Kerala has faced such a situation,” he contended, adding that the last government received Rs 55,000 crore as revenue deficit grant, but the current administration was not getting anything from 16th Finance Commission.