Govt to release Rs 430 cr to RTCs for Shakti scheme

Karnataka is releasing Rs 430 crore to its four State Transport Undertakings (STUs) — KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC — to reimburse them for tickets issued under the Shakti scheme.The transport secretariat issued an order to this effect on October 8.This will be the sixth instalment of reimbursement to the transport corporations for the scheme, which provides free travel for all women domiciled in Karnataka on non-premium buses.Karnataka Cabinet okays 800 diesel buses for 3 RTCsOf the Rs 430 crore, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will get Rs 164.34 crore, the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) Rs 105.39 crore, the Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) Rs 81.82 crore and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Rs 78.43 crore.This development follows a Request for Proposals (RFPs) invited by the KSRTC two weeks ago, which stated that the STUs had spent Rs 20,956 crore on the scheme between June 2023 and July 2026 but were reimbursed only Rs 15,305 crore, leaving dues of Rs 5,651 crore.“The difference is contested less on arithmetic than on the basis of claim, and the absence of a verifiable per-journey record is central to that dispute,” according to the RFP document.The STUs operate 26,054 buses and record 1.20 crore boardings daily, including 75.68 lakh Shakti scheme journeys.Through the RFPs, KSRTC aims to hire an agency to issue chip-based smart cards to all bus passengers, including Shakti scheme beneficiaries. The cards will enable per-journey verification of scheme eligibility and generate an auditable, timestamped record identifying the STU, route, service, depot and location. A reimbursement engine will calculate Shakti claims based on any methodology adopted by the government.The 2026-27 state budget has earmarked Rs 5,300 crore for the Shakti scheme. Of this, Rs 3,763 crore is paid through government subsidy, Rs 1,060 crore from the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Rs 477 crore from the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP).Earlier this year, the government reimbursed the STUs on five occasions: Rs 500 crore as advance on March 27 (for the month of April), and Rs 2,150 crore for May, June, July, August and September.The latest instalment release is subject to the STUs submitting consolidated details of actual scheme expenditure to the KSRTC (the nodal agency), taking immediate steps to issue the smart cards and file affidavits on grant utilisation.

Source: Deccan Herald