HYDERABAD: Yet again, the Telangana High Court termed the contents of the additional counter affidavit filed by the TSRTC as absolutely false, vague and a mismatch, and pulled up the in-charge managing director of the corporation for being ‘purposefully vague’ on the dues payable by the government and the GHMC to the RTC. “We do not know whom to trust, either RTC or the trade unions.
There is no supporting evidence in respect of the amount released by the government towards reimbursement of concession to RTC. Even the statements made by the RTC and Telangana government are contradictory in respect of dues payable to the corporation,” the bench remarked. It pointed out that the statement made by transport minister in the State Assembly was totally different as compared to the in-charge MD’s submissions in the additional counter affidavit regarding RTC dues.
The in-charge MD says that the corporation has been paid over and above the amount that was due from the government towards reimbursement of concession for 2018-19 fiscal, while the senior counsel for trade unions says that the transport minister had stated in the Assembly that there were dues from the State government and GHMC to the corporation, the bench noted. Pursuant to the earlier direction of the court, TSRTC incharge MD Sunil Sharma, who is also principal secretary to transport, appeared before the court in the case.
After perusing the contents of the additional counter affidavit of the in-charge MD, the bench pointed out that the corporation has made correspondence with the GHMC asking it to pay the amounts due to it after the court took up the cases filed on RTC strike. The GO says that it was a loan amount granted by the government to the corporation.
The in-charge MD statement on the issue was vague assertions. When the GHMC says that it was in net deficit, how come it released amounts to RTC during 2015-16 and so on? There was no legal documents which show that the GHMC was legally bound to pay the amount which was due to the corporation, but it was the State government which has got the power to assess a situation and release the amounts needed by the corporation, the bench noted.
This is no clerical mistake, HC to govt
Senior counsel D Prakash Reddy, appearing for the trade unions, referred to the statement of the transport minister in the Assembly in Sept this year that a total of about Rs 2,277 crore dues from the State government and GHMC were payable to RTC. If the government and GHMC pay this amount then the corporation would not reel under financial crisis, he added and urged the court to get the original transcript copy of the minister’s speech along with a video footage of the same.
After hearing the submissions of the senior counsel, the bench said it was the corporation MD, who had given information to the minister for making a statement on the floor of the House, and it was the same officer who was now giving contradictory figures. “This is not a clerical mistake and the consequence of making a statement on oath before the court with wrong contentions will be serious,’’ the bench warned and posted the matter to Nov 7 for further hearing.