HYDERABAD: Even as a number of TSRTC employees are flocking the depots in the fond hope that they would be allowed to report for duty, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday made it clear that the road transport corporation cannot be run in its present form as it requires about Rs 640 crore per month. “The status quo ante cannot be maintained,” a press release from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
The Chief Minister’s observation is sure to have a jarring effect on the employees as they had been hoping that they could get back to duty. At the high level review at Pragati Bhavan with officials, the Chief Minister did not take any decision on the fate of the 48,000 employees who are willing to resume duty. He said a decision could be taken only after the High Court delivers its verdict on privatisation of routes, on Friday.
Rao took stock of the financial status of the RTC and concluded that it was not possible to run the corporation in its present form. According to a release, the meeting noted that several cases were pending in the Court.
“The State government’s priority is to provide better transportation to the public. Basing on the facts, the government will find a remedy to the present problems of the RTC,” the release said. The meeting noted that the total accumulated debts of RTC were around Rs 5,000 crore . The dues to be paid by the RTC were Rs 2,000 crore. Further, RTC required Rs 240 crore to pay the salaries to the employees for September, as directed by the Provident Fund commissioner.
‘State govt not in a position to rescue RTC’
The RTC has to pay Rs 500 crore to its employees’ Cooperative Credit Society (CCS). The diesel bill too was pending. The RTC had not been paying MV tax for the last two years. There is no money to replace the worn out 2,600 buses with new ones. The corporation had to pay Rs 65-70 crore per month to the employees’ provident fund accounts. It requires Rs 640 crore per month to run buses in their present form. But the RTC was not in a position bear all these expenses, the meeting opined.
“The State government too is not in a position to go to the rescue of the RTC, due to economic slowdown. Even if the State government helped the RTC financially to some extent, it may not continue forever. The only option before the RTC is to increase the fares. If the fares are hiked, people will not travel by RTC buses. After considering all these factors, it is felt that it is not possible to run the RTC in its present form,” the meeting felt.
Meanwhile, the meeting also noted that the case challenging the private operators’ entry would come up for hearing in the High Court on Friday. Thus, the meeting concluded that they would take a final decision only after the High Court’s order, if any on Friday.