Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Biju Prabhakar has said that the KSRTC management’s decision to form the KSRTC-SWIFT, a legal entity to run long-distance and electric buses, was not aimed at torpedoing the prospects of the KSRTC, but to salvage the transport utility’s sagging fortunes.
In his second Facebook video on the crisis in the KSRTC on Sunday, he said the KSRTC-SWIFT which had 297 buses planned to enhance the number to 450 soon. But this did not mean that the new company would rob the KSRTC of its profitable routes and permits. In fact, the revenue generated by the new company went directly to the account of the KSRTC. The new company was formed when the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) insisted that forming a new legal entity was essential to avail itself of KIIFB loans to purchase new buses, he said.
All the reforms implemented in the corporation were in line with the recommendations of the Sushil Khanna committee tasked by the government to prepare a ‘crisis and turnaround strategy’ for the corporation. Despite knowing all these aspects, the trade unions in the corporation had been campaigning against the corporation and the CMD. He explained in the video the pros and cons of every step taken in the new legal entity, including rehabilitating the empanelled employees.
