Maharashtra Cabinet clears proposal to give MSRTC Rs 1,000 crore to pay employee salaries

Buses are sanitised at Shivajinagar bus stand in Pune. Inter-district services of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) resumed on August 20, 2020. (Express Photo: Ashish Kale)

The Maharashtra Cabinet Wednesday cleared a proposal to sanction financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore to pay the salaries of state government-run Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees.

Last month, the state government had sanctioned Rs 120 crore as an advance from the contingency fund to pay the salaries of MSRTC employees till October 2020, officials said. Now, the remaining amount of Rs 880 crore will be disbursed to the MSRTC in six monthly installments till April 2021, said an official. There are a total of 99,787 employees in the MSRTC.

The official added that the amount will be approved as supplementary demand in the winter session of the state legislature to be held this month.

Since the imposition of the lockdown, the MSRTC had shut its transport services except for essential workers, which adversely affected its revenue and made it difficult to pay salaries of its employees. “The number of passengers is still limited due to fear in the minds of people. Due to the losses incurred by MSRTC, it was decided to provide it financial assistance,” added the official.

In October, the cash strapped MSRTC was planning to raise Rs 2,000 crore by keeping its various depots spread over large areas as collateral. Transport Minister Anil Parab had said discussions were underway on how to raise money and a final decision would be taken soon.

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