HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday asked RTC union representatives to discuss the matter of absorption among themselves and convey a collective decision to the government, after which it would take a call on union elections, pay revision and absorption.
He told the union leaders, who met him here, that the state government remained committed to addressing RTC workers’ demands and safeguarding their rights. Revanth said steps were being taken to improve the corporation’s finances and overall functioning.
Responding to the unions’ requests, Revanth announced that wages for the three-day strike period would be released and cases filed against workers during the strike withdrawn. He directed Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar to act immediately on both decisions. Union leaders welcomed the move.
The chief minister said the number of buses had been increased and recruitment undertaken to boost revenue. He also announced plans for a world-class bus terminal on 150 acres in Shamshabad, and said that 100 acres had already been allocated at Gajularamaram for another terminal.
Citing rising diesel costs, he said the RTC was procuring 1,000 electric buses and would add mini-buses to improve last-mile connectivity with the Metro network. The corporation spends about Rs 2,000 crore annually on diesel, and electric buses would reduce this burden.
Pointing out that the outstanding dues were not accumulated during Congress tenure, he said that his government was working to clear debts. “We are already making concerted efforts to alleviate the burden of interest payments on the RTC’s outstanding debts, and the workers must cooperate,” Revanth said.
He assured that no driver would be removed and said the government had provided Rs 8,000 crore under the Mahalakshmi scheme. Around Rs 1,000 crore had been released towards pending employee dues.