Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government has sanctioned an additional Rs 93.72 crore as financial assistance to the KSRTC, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal said on Saturday.

Of the total amount, Rs 73.72 crore has been earmarked for pension disbursement, while Rs 20 crore has been allocated for other operational requirements, the minister said in a statement.

With the latest allocation, the total government assistance extended to KSRTC during the current financial year has reached Rs 1,201.56 crore. This includes Rs 731.56 crore towards pension payments and Rs 470 crore as special assistance, the minister explained.

Stating that the state budget for the financial year had provided Rs 900 crore for the transport corporation, he said an additional Rs 301.56 crore has already been released over and above the budgetary allocation.

During the tenure of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, KSRTC has so far received Rs 8,027.72 crore as government support, he further said. During the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, the corporation had received Rs 5,002 crore.

Together, the first and second Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF governments have extended a total assistance of Rs 13,029.72 crore to KSRTC, he further said.

In contrast, the previous UDF government had provided Rs 1,467 crore to the Corporation over a five-year period, Balagopal added in the statement.