HYDERABAD: With just about 0.5 per cent of the RTC’s nearly-49,000 employees reporting for duty ahead of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s deadline at midnight on Tuesday, speculation is rife as to whether the end of the corporation is around the corner. Rao had said that if the employees don’t resume duty, the remaining 5,000 routes in the state would also be handed over to private operators.
When the deadline expired, a little over 300 RTC workers joined duty. The majority of the RTC employees, meanwhile, resisted the warnings of complete privatisation and closure of the corporation. Rao had announced that of the 10,400 routes, he would issue permits for 5,100, and if the employees did not report for work by the deadline, permits would be issued for the remaining 5,300 as well, meaning the RTC would cease to operate any buses. He even said Telangana would become an RTC-free state.
The chief minister is expected to make a final decision on Wednesday or Thursday as to whether permits will be issued for all 10,400 routes, reliable sources said. In all likelihood, the RTC’s huge fleet of buses will either be let out or sold to the private players. Officials earlier advised Rao, saying that this model is workable as it is being implemented in other states. Bus Bhavan saw the highest number of employees — about 100 — returning after 32 days on strike. Hyderabad and Secunderabad cumulatively saw 31 staff return to work.
All eyes on HC ruling on fate of RTC
For the workers, the only option now would be to seek legal recourse. Since the issue is already in the Telangana High Court, all eyes are on it for a favourable decision. “The High Court has till now ruled in our favour, and we are assured that they will take the government to task for handling the RTC this way. We will not give up on our strike until Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao initiates talks and negotiates with us on each of our 26 demands,” said Thomas Reddy, TSRTC Joint Action Committee leader.The 300-odd RTC workers who returned to work until Tuesday evening, make up less than 1 per cent of the corporation’s workforce.
Govt likely to go to apex court if HC intervenes
If the CM ends the RTC’s operations, it remains to be seen how the RTC will settle its accounts. If the HC issues a directive against the move of complete privatisat-ion, the state is likely to challenge it in the Supreme Court. However if privatisation is here to stay, the entire ambit of public transport would go into the hands of the Transport dept. Another possibility is that the department would act as a regulatory body and oversee the operation of buses