TSRTC accumulated losses to tune of Rs 1,995.56 crore
Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has an employee ratio of 6.5 employees per each vehicle and it cannot afford to have more staff due to its current financial condition, Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar told the State Assembly here on Friday. He said the government would consider any new recruitment including compassionate […]
Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has an employee ratio of 6.5 employees per each vehicle and it cannot afford to have more staff due to its current financial condition, Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar told the State Assembly here on Friday.
He said the government would consider any new recruitment including compassionate appointment only after the Corporation regains its fiscal health. About 520 applications pertaining to the kin or legal heirs of the medically unfit employees as well as deceased employees are pending with the RTC.
Responding to issues raised by the members during discussion on the budget demands of the transport department, Ajay Kumar said by January this year, the Corporation accummulated losses to the tune of Rs 1,995.56 crore. Further, it also has loan burden of Rs 6,880 crore. He stated that despite the best efforts by the State government and allocation of nearly Rs 1,500 crore budget as well as bank guarantee to borrow another Rs 1,500 crore, the RTC was incurring losses in crores of rupees.
“Apart from the losses and loans that accumulated over the years, the RTC suffered severel due to the three waves of the Covid-19. As a result, the average occupancy ratio reduced to just 62 per cent. The daily revenue has come down from Rs 13 crore per day in the pre-Covid era to Rs 8.7 crore per day,” he explained. However, the Corporation showed signs of recovery with a revenue collection of Rs 12.27 crore per day in February this year.
The Minister admitted that the TSRTC management was forced to shutdown nearly 689 city bus services on various routes in Hyderabad due to reduced occupancy ratio. He assured to increase the numbers, if there was a demand from commuters on any route. “We reduced the bus services to cut down on unnecessary losses as there was no patronage,” he said, adding that the recommendations of Pay Revision Commission of 2017 for RTC employees will be implemented as soon as the financial condition of the Corporation improves.
He assured to consider the possibility of reducing the VAT against diesel which was causing an additional loss of Rs 1.88 crore per day, due to the Centre’s decision to increase fuel prices.
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