HYDERABAD: The state government is mulling privatisation of several new routes where the APSRTC is not operating its bus services. This was what transport minister and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana allegedly let his confidants know. He said it was the way being sought by the government to rake in the moolah as the losses accrued by the APSRTC mount every year. But the timing of this leak is being viewed as an attempt to embarrass chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy rather than provide bus connectivity to rural areas and as a way of settling political scores following ACB raids in Vizianagaram. But whatever be the intention, the alleged leak has stirred a hornet’s nest, with the RTC employees’ union taking up cudgels against the government for what they see as an attempt to clip their wings. According to highly placed sources, Satyanarayana is understood to have commented to his followers that though the APSRTC was running additional 20,000 buses all over the state, they are not able to cover all villages, leading to transport problems to a huge chunk of the population. He said the government was mulling privatising new routes as well as Palle Velugu buses. The high revenue earning air-conditioned buses, luxury and express buses would continue to be operated by the APSRTC. But when asked by the media later, Satyanarayana made a perfunctory statement denying having made any such comments.But the mere drift was enough to draw the ire of the RTC employees’ union. “The corporation would have to incur the wrath of the employees if if resorts to any such misadventure,” said National Mazdoor Union (NMU) president M Nageswara Rao. “We will not hesitate to go on strike once again,” he warned, adding: “There are several ways the management can curtail losses. But they seem to be more interested in privatising instead of looking at other options.”Nageswara Rao said that the government can net an additional revenue of `1,000 crore every year if it checks the operation of contract carriages. He also said that RTC would save `800 crore a year if the government waives the MV Tax. He felt that the government must allow the corporation to raise fares whenever there is a hike in diesel prices. “Moreover, public transport organisation generally run in losses, whether it be West Bengal or Karnataka,” he added.
Comments
0 comment