Unfazed by the ongoing strike by the employees of state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), the state government on Saturday announced the privatisation of 50 percent of RTC routes. The major decision was taken at the state Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
KCR, who has been unwilling to hold talks with the employees, even went on to warn them, saying that if they fail to join duty inside the next three days, the state government will privatise the remaining routes.
He told reporters after the meeting that private operators will be allowed to run buses on 5,100 routes out of the total 10,400 routes. KCR said he was giving a chance to the striking employees to save their jobs and the future of their families.
"If they don't return to work by November 5 midnight, we will privatise remaining 5,000 routes," he claimed.
KCR said the decision to privatise the routes was irrevocable as the state was empowered to do so under the Motor Vehicles Act, 2019.
The Chief Minister once again ruled out the merger of TSRTC with the government. He said the Cabinet passed a resolution that TSRTC can't be merged with the government.
The decision came even as the indefinite strike by over 48,000 employees entered its 29th day on Saturday.
KCR reiterated that the strike was illegal and asked the employees not to fall into the trap of union leaders and spoil their future.
The Chief Minister on October 7 had announced that 1,200 employees remained with TSRTC as the others did not join the duty before the expiry of the October 5 deadline.
Stating that he had no intention of making the employees jobless, KCR said that he raised their salaries by 67 percent during last four years; a claim which has been denied by striking workers.
He said the decision to partially privatise TSRTC was taken to ensure efficient public transport and provide better service to the people.
He clarified that the private operators will work under the control of TSRTC and there will be a regulatory commission to fix fare and take care of other issues.
KCR said the in future, the employees will not be able to blackmail the government by going on strike during festival and exam time. The Chief Minister said that Telangana was doing what states like Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal had already done.
"Privatisation will bring healthy competition and improve the service," KCR said, as he denied that profit-making routes would be given to the private operators.
Slamming the BJP for supporting the striking employees, he reminded the state leaders of the party that their government in Madhya Pradesh privatised RTC, while their government at the Centre enacted a legislation empowering the states to privatise RTCs.
IANS inputs