THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after a decision was taken in the state budget to convert 3000 KSRTC diesel buses to CNG, the managing director of the corporation Biju Prabhakar made a scathing attack against a section of employees.
"We have found widespread irregularities in the daily operations of the KSRTC. A section of employees are making money using the KSRTC even as it has been struggling to stay afloat. At least 10 per cent employees are engaged in various kinds of malpractices like diesel looting and altering ticket vending machines. There were also irregularities in the purchase of spare parts for the workshop of the depots," he said.
The internal audit of the corporation has also found that around Rs 100 crore was missing from its accounts during the 2012-15 period and action would be taken against then accounts manager Sreekumar, he said.
The KSRTC will have to reduce the number of employees in order to stand on its own feet. In the first phase, the number of employees will have to be reduced to 22,000 and then to 15,000 and 10,000, he said. The KSRTC will not fire anyone but it will have redeploy the excess employees for other purposes, he said.
A section of highly paid employees is engaged in ginger and coffee cultivations without giving due regard to their duties, while another section provides tuitions to students. In many depots, empanelled employees are running the show. A section of employees also make money by helping private buses on long distance routes, the managing director said.
The corporation is facing an unprecedented crisis and bold steps are required to save it, he said, adding a section of employees are protesting against the conversion of diesel buses to CNG just because the diesel loot will come to an end.
The KSRTC will have to either sell some its properties or lease out land in order to save its fortunes. The step taken by the corporation to lease the Vikas Bhavan depot is a transparent process. The corporation will also take disciplinary action against its vigilance executive director P M Sharaf for taking back an employee who was remanded in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case, he said in Thiruvananthapuram.