The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has received aid from the state government in the form of a Rs 1,000 crores package to help clear the two months of salaries that have been pending for its employees. A similar amount has been sanctioned to help pay the salaries of the staff till April 2021. This amount will have to be repaid in six monthly instalments.
Due to non-payment of salaries in August and September, two employees had taken their own lives. Following this incident, the second aid had been approved by the state government.
The first financial grant of Rs 120 crores was made to enable payment of wages for October. This amount will be deducted from the Rs 1,000 crore package.
Payment of salaries accounts for around 40 per cent of MSRTC’s expenditure, while 32 per cent is spent on fuel. Of the aid received, Rs 150 crore will go towards clearing the salaries from November to March and Rs 130 crore will be used to pay April salaries.
Since the lockdown brought public transport to a halt, the MSRTC’s revenue dipped by Rs 3,000 crore. It was only allowed to become fully functional from September 2020 onwards.
Only about 13 lakh passengers are using the services, as compared to the 56 lakh that travelled in pre-COVID times. Not surprisingly, the daily revenue has plunged from Rs 22 crores to Rs 7 crores.
