Thiruvananthapuram, June 10 (IANS) The Kerala government on Wednesday sanctioned the ‘Priyadarshini Scheme’, providing free travel for women in KSRTC ordinary buses from June 15. Announcing the decision after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said the scheme will have no eligibility criteria, with no restrictions based on age or income.

The government has decided to fully compensate KSRTC for the revenue loss caused by the initiative. The scheme is expected to cost the state exchequer around Rs 800 crore annually, which will be transferred to KSRTC as compensation.

“At present, the state government provides around Rs 1,500 crore every year to KSRTC as financial assistance. The additional burden arising from the free travel scheme will now be added to this support,” said Satheesan to the media soon after the weekly cabinet meeting.

The scheme will initially cover only ordinary service buses, with the government planning a review after six months. KSRTC has been asked to improve its revenue generation during this period and strengthen its financial position.

The benefit will also be extended to transgender persons, making the scheme broader in scope.

The announcement comes as part of the government’s effort to expand public transport access for women and ensure greater mobility.

The scheme is expected to become one of the major welfare initiatives of the new government, but its financial impact on KSRTC and the state budget is likely to remain a key point of discussion in the coming months.

Responding to the CPI-M’s discussion at their party meeting analyzing the poll debacle that the Congress and the BJP had a secret deal and it helped both the parties at the election, Satheesan said, “was this the major point of discussion at their various levels of party meetings, but what we all read that their meetings discussion centered that the major reason for their defeat targeted their leadership and the way they went around with the governance,” shot back Satheesan.

He also pointed out that no decision has been taken about the way forward on the controversial PM-SHRI project and also on the proposed high-speed rail project for which discussions were held with Metroman.

–IANS

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