A week after a bus driver killed himself in Dhule because of delayed wages, the beleaguered Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was given a grant of Rs 500 crore by the Maharashtra government on Thursday in order to help clear salary dues and meet critical expenses.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the finance department, said in a statement that the money has been distributed. In this year’s budget, MSRTC was allotted Rs 1,450 crore of which Rs 838 crore has already been disbursed. With the release of another Rs 500-crore on Thursday, the public transport company has only Rs 112-crore left in its budgetary head.