Rs 36 cr dues pendency of RTC is tip of iceberg

Hyderabad: Sources in the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) — which announced a pendency in payments of Rs 36 crore from a variety of establishments ranging from advertising companies and realtors who leased its properties — said the amount is just the tip of the iceberg and that the dues would increase exponentially once all defaulters are identified.

While the RTC is currently generating a daily revenue of Rs 18-Rs 19 lakh, boosted by the introduction of the Maha Lakshmi free bus rides for women, it operates multiple businesses apart from ferrying passengers. These include cargo operations, leasing and renting properties, leasing advertising spaces, and hospitals and paramedical institutes.

In one of the cases, a private company that was awarded a lease in 2016 to run Kala Bhavan and wedding halls for a payment of Rs 25.16 lakh per month defaulted in rent payments, accumulating a default of Rs 6.55 crore. The corporation terminated the agreement and is currently running the operations of the Kala Bhavan, the wedding hall, and three mini halls.

Another instance is of the Armoor Bus Depot, where former legislator Jeevan Reddy constructed a mega-mall on the depot premises but failed to pay the lease amount, with dues amounting to Rs 7 crore currently. TSRTC served notice to Reddy last December warning it would seize the mall if bills were not cleared.

A third instance is that of an advertising company, which defaulted on payments amounting to Rs 21.72 crore in licensing fees for a contract to post its ads on buses. With the agency irregular in making payments and five instances of cheque bounce of Rs 10 lakh each, the RTC filed a case against the company. However, it is unsure of recovering the total dues.

M. Nageshwar Rao, former board member of TSRTC, said, “If RTC authorities conduct a special drive, several cases of non-payment will come to light for further action. The time period elapse of leases also will be detected and the authorities can act upon them.”

He said, “The management should act in time on such matters to save the finances of the corporation. There are several pending cases of occupying the land of the RTC, which the management should look into.”