Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar said, by January this year, the TSRTC accumulated losses amounting to Rs 1,995.56 crore.
The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has an employee ratio of 6.5 employees per vehicle and cannot afford more staff due to its current financial situation, Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar told the State Assembly on Friday.
He stated that any new hiring, including compassionate appointments, would be considered only after the Corporation regained its fiscal health. The RTC has approximately 520 pending applications pertaining to the kin or legal heirs of medically unfit employees as well as deceased employees.
Responding to questions raised by members during a discussion of the transport department’s budget demands, Ajay Kumar stated that the Corporation had accumulated losses totalling Rs 1,995.56 crore by January of this year. It also has a loan burden of Rs 6,880 crore.
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He said that despite the state government’s best efforts and a budget allocation of over Rs 1,500 crore, as well as a bank guarantee to borrow another Rs 1,500 crore, the RTC was losing crores of rupees.
“Aside from the losses and loans that had built over the years, the RTC suffered largely as a result of the three Covid-19 waves. As a result, the average occupancy ratio dropped to 62%. In the pre-Covid era, daily revenue was Rs 13 crore per day; today, it is Rs 8.7 crore per day,” he stated. However, the Corporation showed indications of revival in February of this year, with a revenue collection of Rs 12.27 crore per day.
The Minister acknowledged that the TSRTC administration was forced to shut down almost 689 city bus services on various routes in Hyderabad due to low occupancy ratios. If there was a high demand from commuters on any route, he promised to increase the number of buses.
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“We decreased bus services to prevent needless losses due to low patronage,” he said, adding that the recommendations of the Pay Revision Commission of 2017 for RTC employees will be implemented as soon as the Corporation’s financial situation improves.
He promised to look into the prospect of lowering the VAT against diesel, which was generating an additional loss of Rs 1.88 crore per day as a result of the Centre’s decision to raise fuel prices.
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