Govt cuts funds to TSRTC, employees decry

Hyderabad: The State government on Thursday allocated Rs 975 crore to the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) compared to Rs 994 crore, which shows a decrease of Rs 19 crore. The government had promised to provide more budget to the Corporation this year. However, the budget allocations have been less compared to previous year. 

During 2017-18, the government had allocated Rs 994.71 crore, whereas this year, the government proposed Rs 975.54 crore. The government provided Rs 520 crore as reimbursement for the bus pass subsidies being provided to different categories of passengers. Government also proposed to provide Rs 315.54 crore for repayment of loans taken on government guarantee. For procuring new buses, the government promised Rs 140 crore.

The RTC unions said the government had not given any additional fund to the Corporation. Employees Union leader K Raji Reddy said the government was yet to give Rs 650 Crore out of Rs 1,000 crore which it had promised during 2017-18 budget. The government should have provided Rs 1,500 crore to prove its commitment towards bailing out the debt-ridden corporation, he said.