The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is pondering over how to mobilise daily the ₹10 lakh additionally needed for the fuel bill with the diesel price set to go up by ₹2.47 from Saturday.
The utility needs 4.19 lakh litres of high speed diesel (HSD) to operate around 5,000 schedules a day. With the price hike effected by oil majors, the KSRTC, which is in the red despite the swapping of loan, will have to find another ₹3 crore for its monthly fuel bill.
As the government cannot think of a fare revision for stage carriers, the management is worried over the way to avert a financial crisis.
“We have no idea on how to mobilise the additional resources to offset the fuel price hike. Urgent measures are needed as an additional ₹10 lakh is needed daily to keep the corporation afloat,” a top KSRTC official told The Hindu.
The price of HSD came down by 10 paise from ₹71.64 on Sunday to ₹ 71.54 in the State capital on Monday.
Officials worried
As the hike in fuel prices includes higher central excise, customs duty, and 30% KGST, the KSRTC does not expect a major fall in the price.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) is providing HSD to the KSRTC on concessional rate as it does in Karnataka as the State transport undertaking is a bulk purchaser of fuel. Neither the concession provided by the IOC nor by the other majors such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and the Bharat Petroleum will suffice, the official said.
Help from govt.?
As much as 47% of the revenue from the fleet is used for settling the fuel bill. The management is expecting the government to solve the crisis arising out of the fuel price hike taking in to account the role of the public transport operator.
In 2013, the Cabinet had ‘absorbed’ the additional fuel bill of the KSRTC when the Centre included it in the bulk consumer category giving the needed relief. All eyes are on what Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac will do to save the utility.