The Telangana chief minister said that it was essentially to pull the transport corporation out of the debts it had been mired in.
Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao. (Supplied)
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday, 6 August, explained the reasons for inducting Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) employees into government rolls, which effectively made them government employees.
KCR said that it was essentially to continue the public transportation infrastructure by pulling the corporation out of the debt it had been mired in.
The chief minister, raising the issue in the Assembly, said there could be no two opinions about the obligation of the state government to provide affordable public transport to the people.
He said the TSRTC employees who were being taken on government rolls would become eligible for the hike proposed in the next Pay Revision Commission (PRC) for government employees. They will also feel happy, he said.
The chief minister said that although Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan had expressed several doubts, they were unwarranted.
The only reason the employees were taken into the government service was that the corporation was slipping inexorably into a morass of debt.
“When I was the transport minister, I pulled the corporation out of ₹14 crore losses and made it earn an income of ₹14 crore. This has made me come to the conclusion that if there was a will, the corporation could be extricated from the losses,” said KCR.
He admitted that at one time the state government was against absorbing the TSRTC staff into the state government.
However, over time, the overheads of the TSRTC began increasing, particularly because of the steady rise in the fuel bill.
He said: “We had appointed the best IPS officer as the managing director. Bajireddy Goveradhan Reddy, a capable hand, was its chairman. They tried to bring down the costs of operation, but it was becoming difficult as their attempts were being offset by the rise in fuel prices.”
KCR continued: “The TSRTC buses run for a distance of 40 lakh km every day. They consume six lakh litres of diesel. The price of the diesel, however, is at ₹105 now. At one time the price was ₹60 per litre.”
He explained: “The ₹45 difference is imposing a burden of ₹2.5 crore on the corporation. We discussed the issue in the recent Cabinet meeting, and decided to take the employees on government rolls to give relief to the corporation. The corporation should run as it is the democratic obligation for the state.”
He said there was no question of winding up the RTC because it was run by highly skilled people.
“It has a record of zero accidents. We ourselves are issuing passes to students in lakhs. The people also want the buses to stay. But in the present circumstances, the RTC is unable to move forward. The government has to come to its rescue,” said the chief minister.
“Though the RTC was not part of the government, the latter has been releasing ₹1,500 crore to the corporation every year,” he said.
The chief minister took to task those who were asking the government why it was taking the TSRTC staff on rolls after saying in the past that it was not possible.
He decried those who were imputing motives to the government for taking the staff of the TSRTC on government rolls.
“They are saying that the government is eyeing RTC’s properties. It is unfair for them to see an ulterior motive in every decision that the government takes, which are essentially for the good of the people,” said KCR.
He said the government would not touch RTC’s properties, but would instead further improve them.
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