Maharashtra ST corporation's dues pile up to Rs 4,500 crore, finance department questions Rs 200 crore loan

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, or ST, is in serious financial trouble. Its outstanding dues rose by Rs 1,071 crore this month, prompting the state finance department to take a strict stance on the corporation's finances. The department has sought a detailed report on why a Rs 200 crore interest-free loan given to the corporation earlier has still not been repaid, along with several other issues. This was disclosed on Wednesday by Shrirang Barge, general secretary of the Maharashtra ST Karmachari Congress.

According to Barge, the corporation's statutory dues have piled up to more than Rs 4,500 crore over the last two to three years. Of this, nearly Rs 3,000 crore is still owed to employees as provident fund and gratuity. A pay revision differential for employees that was approved by the government some time ago has still not been released to the corporation, Barge said. This amount stands at Rs 480 crore and 53 lakh. Besides this, about Rs 100 crore more is due towards diesel and spare parts for vehicles, Barge said.

On one hand, the corporation's accumulated losses keep rising, and on the other, dues to employees, provident fund and gratuity, diesel payments, spare parts bills and other liabilities also keep mounting, Barge said. This is putting pressure on the corporation's day-to-day finances and its ability to pay employees on time going forward, he said.

The corporation needs Rs 540 crore a month to pay employees their full salaries, but with funds unavailable, only a net Rs 330 crore is being paid out at present. As a result, the remaining dues to employees keep accumulating. "If this mountain of dues keeps growing like this, the ST corporation's financial crisis will become even more serious. Next month there could be difficulties even in paying employees their net salaries," Barge said.

Meanwhile, the state finance department has sought a self-explanatory report from the corporation on why the Rs 200 crore interest-free loan given to it has still not been repaid to the government. The department has also directed that if a special audit report is already available with the corporation, it should be submitted, along with detailed information on the related reimbursement, with the next proposal. Since amounts from earlier periods do not yet appear to be reflected on the dashboard, the department has also been advised to be given the necessary login access for this.

Barge said that seeking a report on why the Rs 200 crore government loan has not been repaid is a serious matter. "On one hand the accumulated losses are rising, and on the other, dues remain unpaid. The government needs to urgently pay attention to this serious financial situation," Barge said.