Bengaluru, 14 August 2026: Karnataka Transport Minister Bhairathi Suresh on Friday announced the release of ₹170 crore towards pending salary arrears of employees of the state-owned transport corporations, describing it as a Varmahalakshmi festival gift to transport workers.
The announcement followed a meeting with representatives of more than 15 labour unions at the KSRTC central office in Bengaluru, where various demands of employees were discussed.
According to the minister, the State government had revised the salaries of transport corporation employees in 2025, creating a total payment liability of ₹1,221 crore. Of this, ₹450 crore has already been paid, while ₹821 crore remains outstanding.
Bhairathi Suresh said he discussed the pending amount with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who agreed to the immediate release of ₹170 crore. The amount was released on Friday, he said.
Unions seek regular wage revision
The meeting also discussed several demands raised by the labour unions, including extending the existing wage revision for another 12 months, introducing wage revision once every four years and holding long-pending elections to labour unions.
The minister said the government was positive about the demands. However, since several of them have financial implications, the issues would be discussed with the Chief Minister and the Finance Department before being placed before the Cabinet for a final decision.
A meeting with the Chief Minister involving representatives of the labour unions will be scheduled after the State Legislature session, he added.
Health insurance for employees of all four corporations
The minister also announced plans to extend health insurance coverage to employees of the other three state transport corporations.
KSRTC has already introduced a health insurance scheme for its staff and employees. A similar scheme will be implemented for employees of BMTC, KKRTC and NWKRTC, he said.
Free bus passes for retired employees
Retired employees of the state transport corporations currently receive annual bus passes on payment of ₹500. The government has decided to provide these passes free of cost in future, Bhairathi Suresh said.
Bus fares may rise, but burden on public will be considered
Responding to a question on a possible increase in bus fares, the minister said fuel prices had increased more than nine times since the last fare revision, while fares on government-owned buses had not been increased.
This has resulted in substantial financial losses for the transport corporations, he said.
The government has constituted a committee headed by senior IAS officer Atul Tiwari to study the proposal for a fare revision. The committee will examine the advantages and disadvantages and submit its report.
The report will subsequently be discussed with the Chief Minister and the Cabinet, and any fare increase will be considered in a manner that does not place an excessive burden on the public, the minister said.
Electric buses will continue
Bhairathi Suresh also clarified that the electric bus programme would not be discontinued.
He said funds under the Shakti scheme would be released in phases and that electric buses would continue as planned.
Under the PM scheme, Karnataka is expected to receive 4,500 electric buses from the Union government. A final decision on the matter will be taken at the next Cabinet meeting, he said.