Hyderabad: In a twist to the proposed merger of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) with the state government, Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday said that she would sign the Bill only after examining all legal issues, which “requires some more time.”
Consequently, the BRS government’s plans to introduce the Bill in the ongoing monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly, which ends on Sunday, have gone haywire.
With just two days left, the chances of tabling the TSRTC merger Bill in the last session before the elections are near-zero. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is likely to clarify on this issue in the House on Saturday.
Even if the government hopes to bring in an ordinance, it has to get the Governor's approval. The government may convene a special session of the Assembly to pass the Bill if the Governor gives her assent at a later date and before the election code comes into force.
A media statement issued by Raj Bhavan on Friday stated: "The Assembly was scheduled to meet on August 3 and the Draft Bill of “The TSRTC (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill, 2023 was received at Raj Bhavan, Hyderabad on August 2 at about 3.30 pm only requesting for permission to introduce the same in Assembly. It requires some more time to examine it and obtain legal opinion for taking a decision on the request."
Since the TSRTC Bill comes under the category of financial bill, the Governor's approval is mandatory for tabling it in the Assembly.
For the moment, the state government appears clueless on going about the issue.
Meanwhile, RTC employees are wondering if the Bill will be introduced and passed in this Assembly session or whether they have to wait till a new government takes over.
The state government and the Governor have been at loggerheads after she rejected four Bills though they were passed by the Legislative Assembly last September. The government even moved the Supreme Court against the Governor in March. It also moved the High Court in January seeking directions to the Governor to clear the state Budget for 2022-23 to table it in the Assembly. She consented following the High Court's intervention. Dr Soundararajan cleared some Bills and returned some after the state government approached the Supreme Court.
Official sources said that the Chief Minister is exploring various options on the TSRTC merger issue following Friday’s dramatic developments. The state government is planning to move either the High Court or the Supreme Court on this issue.
Even if the government hopes to bring in an ordinance, it has to get the Governor's approval. The government may convene a special session of the Assembly to pass the Bill if the Governor gives her assent at a later date and before the election code comes into force.
It may be recalled that the state Cabinet had on July 31 approved the merger of TSRTC with the state government. About 43,372 employees will be absorbed into the state government after the merger. This has been a long pending demand of the corporation’s employees as the merger gives them job security.
