Plan afoot for VRS in Assam State Transport Corporation

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The State Government has decided to give a golden handshake to a section of willing ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) employees as part of the revival of the corporation.

The State Government has already taken a policy decision to this effect. The supplementary budget for fiscal 2022-23 passed by the recent Autumn Session of the State Assembly allocated Rs 50 crore for the VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) of ASTC employees. According to ASTC sources, the loss-making corporation has a staggering salary burden which the government wants to decrease.

The government did offer the VRS for the revival of the corporation. The offer received a positive response from 400 employees who applied for

the VRS. If over 400 employees take VRS at one go, the government needs to pay them around Rs 120 crore. Since the latest supplementary budget has allocated Rs 50 crore, the government is contemplating giving a golden handshake to the willing employees in phases.

According to ASTC sources, if the over 400 willing employees of different ranks take voluntary retirement, the salary burden of the corporation will come down by around Rs 25 crore annually. At present, the ASTC has 3,168 employees, including 1,000 permanent ones.

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