For the first time in 8 years, KSRTC staff get their salaries in same month!

THE nearly 28,000 employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) were in for a pleasant surprise when the financially struggling state public-sector undertaking (PSU) disbursed their April salaries "on the last working day of the month" — for the first time in nearly eight years.

- KRISHNA KUMAR K E @Kochi

This is a welcome change from the usual practice of the corporation delaying salary disbursement, at times even crediting the previous month's salary in installments. In fact, for the past two months, Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar has been keeping his promise of crediting the full salary in the first day of the new month.

While detractors point out that this is being done by availing a ₹100-crore overdraft at 10.8 per cent interest from the State Bank of India, the KSRTC management claims they can now afford to do so— thanks to the monthly government grant of ₹50 crore and increased revenue collection.