Kollam: Steps to ensure that Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees receive salaries on the first day of every month, similar to other government employees, are nearing completion. This new arrangement will come into effect from January 1, 2025.

The issue was resolved by replacing Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC) with Kerala Bank in the bank consortium. Kerala Bank will provide KSRTC with loans of up to Rs 150 crore for salary disbursement and an additional Rs 80 crore as an overdraft facility to cover one month's salary requirements.

After ensuring timely salary payments, the repayment will be managed using Rs 50 crore provided by the government in two instalments and other revenues generated by KSRTC. This decision was finalised at a recent meeting convened by Minister K B Ganesh Kumar, which included the CMD of KSRTC, representatives from Kerala Bank, and members of the bank consortium.

The government waived Rs 9.62 crore in registration and stamp duty costs to facilitate the inclusion of Kerala Bank in the consortium, which also includes SBI, PNB and Canara Bank. This expedited the procedural steps, leaving only NABARD's approval for Kerala Bank to join the consortium. Once this approval is granted, Kerala Bank is expected to be part of the consortium by the second week of December.

As the Sabarimala season concludes in the second week of January, a referendum to determine recognised unions will be conducted. The ruling party unions have welcomed this decision, which is expected to become a major campaign highlight in the poll.