HYDERABAD: Sooner rather than later, the omnipresent TSRTC buses on Telangana roads may become few and far between. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, speaking his mind at a press conference in Telangana Bhavan here on Thursday, envisioned a public transport system wherein the fares would be less than those of TSRTC buses.
Asserting that the TSRTC’s end had already begun, he said that the State government would open doors to the private sector for providing better and economic transportation to the people across Telangana.
The chief minister said that the RTC in West Bengal operated only for the sake of it. “Only 200 RTC buses are being operated in West Bengal for its 10 crore people,” Rao said, adding that there are no RTCs in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. When asked whether the TSRTC would be able to run skeleton services and remain for the sake of it in the State, Rao said it would depend on the TSRTC employees.
Further, he added that the RTC was sinking because of the employees’ unions. Blaming the unions for the losses incurred by the RTC, he said, “The TSRTC sank into a morass of losses because of the unions. The demands of the unions are not plausible or implementable. It is not possible to merge the RTC with the government,” the chief minister said. He found fault with the unions for going on strike at a time when the RTC could have earned good revenues during the Dasara season. “These strikes are useless and they are meant to spruce up the union elections,” Rao said.
When asked about the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to merge the APSRTC with the government, Rao said, “The Andhra Pradesh government constituted a committee. God only knows what would happen to the APSRTC.”
Unions adopted unhealthy path
The chief minister said that owing to the economic slowdown, the State’s budget was reduced to Rs 1.46 lakh crore. “We are planning to sell government lands to mop up Rs 10,000 crore. Thousands are losing their jobs because of the economic recession. This is a stark reality. The automobile sector too has collapsed. Going on a strike at this time is wrong. The RTC unions adopted a mad path with irrational demands,” Rao said.
Recalling his tenure as the transport minister for the State, he said that the combined RTC was Rs 13.8 crore in losses. “I tried very hard and within one and a half years, the RTC earned Rs 14 crore as profits. After becoming chief minister, I have held a meeting with all the officers and employees on RTC for a full day. The government hiked their salaries by 44 per cent. Later, 14 per cent interim relief too was given. No RTC in the country has hiked employees’ salaries by 67 per cent in just four years. I have increased the salaries because I have love and affection towards the RTC,” Rao said. He also found fault with the opposition leaders for supporting the “meaningless” strike.
The chief minister said that as the RTC did not have any money, it could not pay the loan instalments. Once it defaulted, then the banks would declare RTC as a non-performing asset (NPA). Such a situation may arise in November, Rao said.
Monthly loss at Rs 100 crore
Rao claimed that the RTC has been incurring a loss of Rs 100 crore every month and Rs 1,200 crore every year. “When private buses are making profits, why is the RTC incurring losses? The RTC is also an operator and it should think over it,” Rao said.
He said that there were 2,100 hire buses and 8,000 RTC buses in the State. “Each hire bus will operate 300 km every day, earning Rs 225 profit per day. All the hire buses will earn a profit of Rs 4.72 lakh every day. Whereas, each RTC bus is incurring Rs 13 crore loss every day. The RTC has already been bankrupted,” Rao said.
TRS govt supported RTC
Rao recalled that between 2009 and 2014, the combined Andhra Pradesh government had given Rs 712 crore to the RTC. “After the formation of Telangana, TRS government released Rs 4,250 crore for the corporation, which is 595 per cent more than what the previous government had given. Besides this, the GHMC had given a grant of Rs 330 crore for city services. All put together, the RTC received Rs 4,550 crore. This year, we had earmarked Rs 550 crore in the budget for the RTC. In the first half year itself, we had released Rs 425 crore,” Rao said.
Court has no power
The chief minister said that when the High Court wanted the government to pay the salaries of the employees, the RTC management had informed the court that it had no money. What would the High Court do now, he asked. The only way left was to auction the bus stands to pay the wages. There was no money with the government to pay the salaries of the employees, he said. The High Court would not have any powers with regard to the employees and the unions had to approach the labour courts, Rao said.
No money for new buses
Rao also said that around 2,600 buses had travelled for more than 10 lakh km and they had to be replaced with new buses. For the same, the RTC required Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. But, where was the money to buy the new buses, Rao asked.
Employees should distance themselves from unions
Rao asked employees not to be under the grip of the unions. “Employees should distance themselves from the unions and apply for jobs at their respective depots. The management may consider it,” Rao said. When asked whether he was giving a call to employees on this, Rao replied in negative. “Why should I?,” the chief minister asked.
He, however, added that if there were any innocent employees in RTC, they could apply at the depots and the management might examine them. He said that he had no dispute with conductors and drivers of the RTC. If there was no unionism in the RTC, it would have turned profitable within two years.
The RTC employees too could bag Rs 2 lakh bonus like Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and other employees, the chief minister said. He added that it was due to the unionism that the RTC in West Bengal had collapsed. Several jute mills in West Bengal too were closed down after CPM came to power there and initiated unionism, he said.
Mincing no words
Stating that the TSRTC’s end has already begun, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao says the State government will open doors to the private sector for better the transportation facilities in Telangana
He claims that the strike is useless and calls it a conspiracy of the unions to spruce up the union elections
He says that the unions should not have gone on a strike when the country was facing an economic slowdown
He claims the TSRTC received a total of Rs 4,550 crore after the TRS came to power in 2014
He asks RTC employees not to depend on unions and holds unionism responsible for ruining the corporation in West Bengal
‘Misconstruing facts’
TSRTC JAC leaders expresses their shock at the ‘harsh’ comments of the chief minister
They call his remarks blatant lies and a betrayal of their commitment to the TRS party during the Telangana Statehood movement
They say they never received the Rs 4,550 crore that the chief minister claimed he had given to the RTC
Alleging that the chief minister is trying to misconstrue facts, they claim RTC only got Rs 712 cr
They say that the TRS government has not taken steps to reduce motor vehicle taxes to revive the RTC