Thiruvananthapuram: In a bid to raise funds for enhancing the facilities for passengers and to find money for retired Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees, the government has introduced cess for KSRTC bus tickets. The governor signed an ordinance in this regard.

It will take some days for the cess to take effect after it is published through a gazette notification. However, the cess will not be applicable to private buses.

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The ordinance categorically mentions it is the cess for KSRTC which will be effective for buses from ordinary to Super Delux. It is estimated that a sum of Rs 12 crore can be collected through this every month, which means an amount of 144 crore every year. The KSRTC needs Rs 40 crore for pension policies every month. According to the revamp package, the state government is supposed to ensure a monthly input of Rs 20 crore.

If cess is able to generate Rs 12 crore, the government will have to spend only Rs 8 crore from its income towards pension disbursement every month.

Though it is mentioned in the ordinance that cess is being imposed for sprucing up facilities for passengers, there is no details on how and in what ways the facilities are being increased. The income through the cess will first flow to consolidated fund of the government, which in turn will hand over the money to the KSRTC.

News: Manorama Online

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