Transport Corporation facing acute fund crunch

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HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is facing an acute fund crunch as the bankers who promised to prov..

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is facing an acute fund crunch as the bankers who promised to provide a loan of Rs 743 crore to it to overcome the financial stringency, have lent Rs 300 crore only. The APSRTC which is one of the biggest road transport corporations in the country, is running in Rs 1,800 crore loss. The RTC has already urged the state government to bail it out of financial crisis.
According to official sources, the RTC is not in a position to pay salaries of November to its staff now. To improve its services, the RTC recently purchased 2,000 new buses with the help of the government and loans taken from the banks. It plans to acquire 6,000 more buses to increase its fleet.But the bankers have refused to provide Rs 443 crore to the RTC despite its assurance in this regard due to lack of proper loan guarantee. They have made it clear that the lands and bus stations shown by the RTC as guarantee are inadequate citing lack of real estate boom now.

The present political uncertainty in the state due to Telangana agitation is another reason for the banks' refusal to accept lands and bus stations shown by the RTC as guarantee to release the remaining Rs 443 crore loan. They lent Rs 300 crore to the RTC only after the latter mortgaged the newly bought buses.

It is learnt that the RTC management is planning to urge the state government to provide counter guarantee to facilitate the release of Rs 443 crore loan by banks. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the RTC to overcome the financial stringency, sources added.