Hyderabad, July 24 (NSS): Former minister Harish Rao today asked the State government as to when would the merger of TGSRTC employees with the government be completed? He also questioned the government as to when the date of appointment would be announced for the RTC employees?
Speaking during the Question Hour in the ongoing budget session of the State assembly, he said the answers given by the minister to the questions asked on the RTC were irresponsible and misleading. He asked the minister to spell out the reasons for the delay of the merger. He said it was the eighth month since the State government came to power in Telangana. When these proposals will be implemented and will the appointed day be announced, he asked. He said on page 28 of the Congress party’s manifesto, item number 14 has the words ‘Welfare of TSRTC employees’. “The manifesto said the government would complete the merger process of the RTC workers and pay the dues of the two PRCs immediately. Isn’t eight months time enough?” When will the RTC staff come to the PRC,” he asked.
He said when the BRS government was in power, they used to give permanent jobs to the children of the RTC workers, who died while serving the corporation. “But when the Congress government came to power, the provision of the permanent employment was removed. Like the previous government, we demand that the children of the deceased workers should be given regular employment immediately. The Chief Minister and the minister concerned were happy to have flagged off the buses ordered by our government at Necklace Road. During the flag hoisting ceremony, the CM showed a cheque of Rs 300 crore to the RTC workers. The cheque was shown that the PRC dues would be released to the workers. The cheques were issued on February 10, 2024. We are here today in the month of July. The cheques did not reach the Bus Bhavan from Necklace Road for nearly five months. He said in their government, they had given 44% fitment to the RTC workers.
“In the past, when our government was in power, we gave 43% fitment to State government employees and 44% to the RTC employees. In the previous TDP government, ₹ 100 crore was given to the workers in the budget. The Congress government has allocated only Rs 200 crore in the budget. But the present State government said it had saved the RTC by allocating Rs 1,500 crore in the budget,” he said.
While Harish Rao was speaking, Minister Sridhar Babu interrupted and said that Rao was giving speeches during the Question Hour. To this, Harish Rao responded by saying that he had asked questions directly to the minister. He made it clear that he spoke about RTC workers’ problems and did not do politics. Stating that the State government promised to give Bus passes to the differently-abled persons, students, government employees and journalists in the RTC at a concessional rate, Rao asked whether it was not a fact that the State government retracted from its promise?
He said after the Mahalakshmi scheme implementation, the burden of working hours of the RTC workers had increased due to overloading of passengers “I am asking the CM and the Transport Minister to give a sweet news to the RTC employees, who are waiting with a lot of hope in the State.
