Suspense continues over fate of Telangana RTC bill

Hyderabad: Suspense continues over the fate of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) Bill on Sunday as Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has still not given the nod for introducing it in state Assembly.

After seeking two rounds of clarifications from the state government and receiving a response from the latter, the governor has called a meeting of officials of the transport department and Roads and Buildings department at Raj Bhavan in the afternoon.

Tamilisai returned to Hyderabad on Sunday from Puducherry where she holds the additional charge of Lieutenant Governor.

As Sunday is the last day of the Assembly session, uncertainty prevailed on whether the bill will receive the governor’s approval for introducing.

Transport minister P. Ajay Kumar on Sunday held a meeting with Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy to discuss introduction of the bill immediately after receiving the approval from Raj Bhavan.

The draft bill of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill, 2023 aimed at absorbing over 43,000 employees of TSRTC into the government service was sent to the governor on Wednesday.

Since it is a money bill, it needs the Governor’s approval for introducing the same in the Assembly.

After the government submitted a reply to clarifications sought on Friday, the governor sought some more clarifications on Saturday.

In a press communique issued on Saturday night, the Raj Bhavan said the governor has sought further clarifications on the bill.

It stated that the entire endeavour of the Raj Bhavan is to ensure that every right and provisions of the TSRTC employees are protected, and will continue to be protected after a future notification is issued by the government.

“That the transition should happen smoothly without leaving scope for any future possible legal hurdles; Whether the proposed Bill robust enough that it addresses these concerns is the main worry of the Hon’ble Governor,” the communique reads.

The governor sought further clarifications based on interactions with the employees and memoranda received from them regarding the proposed bill.  She wanted to know if the state government has obtained the concurrence of the Government of India concerning the 30 per cent stake of the Government of India, as mentioned in the Government’s reply. If the concurrence has been obtained, a copy of the same is to be provided. If not, the steps taken by the state government to ensure legal compliance are to be furnished.

The total number of permanent employees, categorised by their respective categories and depots, needs to be provided. Additionally, the number of employees working on a contract, casual, or any other basis other than permanent status, categorised by their respective categories and depots, is also required.

The governor also sought details about the proposed legal regime in respect of non-permanent employees. She also wanted to know if the movable and immovable properties of the corporation will continue to remain with the corporation or if the government of Telangana will take over any of these properties.

She also sought clarification pertaining to the authority responsible for operating the fleet of buses. If the employees are absorbed as government servants, it needs to be clarified who will be responsible for controlling their functioning and assigning duties for running the fleet. Additionally, the role of the corporation in this regard is to be specified, with a focus on the interests of the employees and daily commuters.

On Saturday, a section of TSRTC employees had gone on strike for a few hours demanding the governor to approve the bill. Hundreds of TSRTC employees had also marched to Raj Bhavan to press for their demand.

The governor had held a video conference with the leaders of TSRTC employees’ unions through a video conference from Puducherry.

Later, the governor had issued a statement saying there is no personal or other political interest involved in withholding consent for introducing the bill. She claimed that her only concern is to protect and safeguard the interest of the TSRTC employees and the organisation in larger public interest.

The governor claimed that the TSRTC Joint Action Committee informed her during the video conference that the employees unions had not given any call for the strike. They told her that it was completely a government sponsored and forced strike; even the women employees were not spared. We were threatened and forced to give strike call and organise the Raj Bhavan siege programme. Some MLAs and a minister have orchestrated this Dharna programme to infuriate the employees and cause public inconvenience .