JOIN USKCR divides TSRTC into three; firm on sacking absentees
In an unprecedented move, the Telangana government has decided to split the state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) into three.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao declared that 50 per cent of the fleet will be fully owned by the RTC. Another 30 per cent buses will be hired from private owners. The remaining 20 per cent will be run in total private management. However, the fares for the private buses will also be on par with that of the RTC, as fixed by the RTC management. The concessions to the senior citizen, the disabled and journalists will continue.
The TSRTC currently has 10,400 buses. As per the CM’s new proposal, 5,200 will be owned by the RTC, 3,100 hired from the private operators and 2,100 will be operated by the private players.
An expert committee, set up by KCR to come up with these proposals, submitted the report to the CM on Monday.
Blaming the trade unions, the CM said that unions have a very primitive thought process. "We have to protect the commuters’ interests”, he said.
About 50,000 TSRTC employees have been on indefinite strike from October 4 to press for resolution of a charter of 26 demands. The government said the strike was “illegal” and declared that all the striking employees who fail to join back would cease to be TSRTC staff after October 5 evening. Only 1200 joined duty.
Clarifying the government's stand, CM said, “Nobody has removed them. They removed themselves through self-dismissal by not attending to duties before the deadline . As per the RTC and the government, there are only 1,200 employees in RTC now."
Staff firm
Employees Joint Action Committee Chairman Ashwathama Reddy is unrelenting and said that employees are not deterred by the government's plans to privatise the public transport system. Entire opposition including the Congress and BJP and various people’s organisations and the outlawed Maoist Party have pledged their support to the employees.