In U-turn, Telangana Cabinet nod for RTC-govt merger

Hyderabad: The State Cabinet on Monday approved the merger of the TS Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) with the state government.

After the merger, 43,372 TSRTC employees will get all the benefits of state government staff. The government will introduce a Bill to this effect in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly, set to begin on August 3.

The merger was a long-pending demand of the TSRTC employees; it was one of their main demands during their 52-day strike in 2019. The CM had then stated that the merger was impossible and said that the staff of 57 other corporations would also demanded a merger.

On Monday, in the backdrop of the elections approaching, the CM changed his stand.

Briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions at the Secretariat, IT minister K.T. Rama Rao said that the CM had fulfilled the long-cherished dream of RTC employees of treating them as state government employees.

Rama Rao said the Cabinet had approved the nomination of Dr Dasoju Sravan as MLC under Governor's quota. Former MLA Kurra Satyanarayana representing Erukala community among STs, was also nominated as MLC under Governor's quota. He had joined the BRS from BJP in May 2022. Dr Sravan, hailing from the Backward Classes, rejoined the BRS in October 2022 from the BJP ahead of the Munugode Assembly bypoll.

The Cabinet also approved sanctioning of '500 crore as rain relief and directed collectors to quickly undertake repair of roads, highways, culverts and bridges and extend relief and rehabilitation to flood affected families.

Rama Rao said it was decided to extend Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to kin of those who died during heavy rains and floods, adding that 40 deaths had been reported from various districts. The collectors were directed to undertake field level surveys on crop loss and submit a report so that the government can announce compensation to affected farmers.

The Cabinet also approved the construction of a reinforced cement concrete (RCC) wall to protect Khammam town from flooding in the Munneru river.

The Cabinet cleared the reintroduction in the Assembly of three Bills that Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan had rejected after they were passed by Assembly in September last year. Lashing out at the Governor for allegedly playing politics and at the Centre for misusing Governors to harass non-BJP ruled states, Rama Rao said that if the Assembly approved the same bills a second time and referred for approval, the Governor would have no option but to give assent as per Constitutional norms.

The three bills pertain to  municipal department (increasing the time to move no-confidence motions in urban local bodies from three years to four years), education department (according private university status to five institutions) and panchayat raj department (upgradation of tribal hamlets as gram panchayats by merger).