Bengaluru: With mounting fuel bills and pending reimbursements for the Shakti scheme putting pressure on state-run transport corporations, the state govt has released Rs 530 crore to four road transport corporations to clear diesel dues and meet expenditure under the free bus travel scheme for women.Of the amount, Rs 100 crore has been released towards pending diesel bills, while Rs 430 crore will go towards reimbursement of expenditure incurred under the Shakti scheme.Govt also released nearly Rs 64 crore towards providing free bus travel facilities to school and college students.The release comes after the corporations approached govt seeking funds to clear outstanding fuel bills. The transport undertakings had reported pending dues of Rs 1,124 crore to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL). They consume around 16.2 lakh litres of diesel every day and spend approximately Rs 488 crore a month on fuel procurement.In a separate order, govt released Rs 430 crore towards pending reimbursements under the Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel to women in Karnataka. KSRTC received Rs 164 crore, BMTC Rs 78.4 crore, NWKRTC Rs 105 crore and KKRTC Rs 81.8 crore.
