Thiruvananthapuram: In a path-breaking move aimed at saving the loss-making Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the state government has decided to remove political nominees from the public carrier’s board of directors. The decision, based on the recommendations of the Sushil Khanna report, is part of the government’s efforts to introduce professionalism in KSRTC.

Presently, only seven people in the 15-member board of KSRTC are professionals while the rest are politicians nominated by various parties. The Khanna committee had pointed out that one of the main reasons for the pathetic condition of the carrier was lack of expertise in its board and sought exclusion of the politicians.

Even though this suggestion could not be implemented during the term of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, the new Transport Minister Antony Raju recommended the move to the Chief Minister as part of the KSRTC’s restructuring. With Pinarayi giving his approval, the decision is expected to come into effect on Monday, with the release of an official order.

According to the legislation related to the formation of the KSRTC board, only professionals could become its members. However, when R Balakrishna Pillai was the Transport Minister, the rule was diluted to include a few political nominees. Subsequently, the number of politicians gradually increased over the years.