T’puram: Govt sanctioned an additional Rs 73.50 crore to Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) as monthly assistance for pension distribution, finance minister K N Balagopal said on Thursday.In a statement, the minister said the amount was released as part of govt’s continued financial support to the state-run transport corporation to ensure timely payment of pension. With the latest allocation, the total govt assistance extended to KSRTC during the current financial year reached Rs 1,399 crore. Of this, Rs 879 crore was provided specifically for pension distribution, while Rs 520 crore was extended as special financial assistance. The state budget for the current year earmarked Rs 900 crore for the corporation. In addition to this budgetary allocation, an extra Rs 499 crore was made available to KSRTC during the year, taking the total support well beyond the initially provided amount. The minister also highlighted the scale of financial backing extended to the corporation during LDF govts tenure. In the first tenure, the corporation was provided Rs 5,002 crore and Rs 8,619 crore in the second. Combined, LDF govt extended Rs 13,621 crore in assistance to KSRTC, he said. In comparison, during the five-year tenure of the previous UDF govt, the corporation received Rs 1,467 crore as financial support, the statement said.
