53,000 RTC employees to become as Govt employees in AP

Amaravati:  All set for the merger of APSRTC employees into the AP Government. For this, the government is going to create a new department, namely Public Transport. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has given in-principle approval for the report submitted by the six-member Committee on it headed by former IPS C Anjaneya Reddy, on Tuesday at CM Camp office, Tadepalli in Guntur. In this meeting, Ministers including Transport Minister Perni Nani, Finance Minister B Rajendranath Reddy, officials from APSRTC, Anjaneya Reddy committee members and others participated.

The Cabinet scheduled on Wednesday would give formal approval for inducting around 53,000 employees serving in the APSRTC. With this, the government is going to bear more than Rs 3500 crore additional burden annually. Since the APSRTC is a joint Public Undertaking by both union and state governments, the complete merger is still in pending. But, the Jagan government has cleared the decks in merging the APSRTC employees into AP Transport Department. After approval from the Cabinet, all the employees will be considered as state government employees.

Anjaneya Reddy Committee gave the report to the Chief Minister, after discussing with various leaders and other stakeholders, explained to Transport Minister while addressing media at CM Camp office. This report will be put up before the cabinet for its approval, scheduled tomorrow, informed the Minister. He further informed that this has been a dream of every employee working in the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation from decades. Chief Minister stated that the government was determined to take the burden of the employees to provide job security to them.

In fact, this is a promise given by the Chief Minister during his Padayatra. As a policy, the first cabinet of YSRCP government had decided to merge APSRTC with government, soon after coming to power.

RTC Employees Union president YV Rao said that it is a decades-old demand from the Corporation. Now, it came true with the determination of Chief Minister. He said that the committee also submitted its report even before the due date for them.