The State Assembly on Sunday passed the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees) into Government Service Bill 2023, paving the way for the merger of TSRTC with the State government.
Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar introduced the Bill in the Assembly after Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s approval earlier that day.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao addressed concerns about RTC employees’ welfare and asset safety, stating that the decision to merge RTC with the government was driven by mounting losses due to increasing diesel prices and expenses.
The Cabinet thoroughly discussed the matter before reaching the final decision.
The Chief Minister clarified that the government’s social obligation to provide affordable public transport led to the decision to absorb employees and merge the corporation, with a yearly allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for TSRTC
operations.
Transport Minister Ajay Kumar confirmed that the Corporation would continue to operate under the administrative control of the Transport, Roads, and Buildings department, with the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director at its helm.
Employees would be absorbed into public services as government employees, while existing TSRTC service rules would remain in force until new rules were framed.
Despite the additional burden of around Rs 3,000 crore per annum, the Chief Minister assured that contract and outsourcing workers would continue to provide services according to the existing rules.
There were no plans to sell or auction RTC assets, as the government debunked such allegations.
