Centre not aware of TSRTC creation, counsel informs HC

Hyderabad: The ongoing strike by TSRTC employees has assumed a new dimension on Thursday as the counsel representing the Union government informed the court that the Centre was not aware of the creation of TSRTC and APSRTC after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The counsel said that the Centre did not have any share in the TSRTC and there is no need for it to make any financial contribution to rescue the crisis-hit RTC.

Since the division of assets between the APSRTC and TSRTC was still pending before the Union government, the question of 31 per cent central stake in the Telangana RTC does not arise.

There is also no evidence with the TS government that the Centre approved the division of the corporation, he said.

This led the High Court to raise serious doubts on the replies given by chief secretary of Telangana government that the APSRTC was divided as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 and only the assets division issue was pending before the Centre.

Apart from pulling up the TSRTC for submitting incorrect reports, it directed the government to call the striking RTC unions for talks and resolve the issue on a priority basis before next hearing to be held on November 11.

The division bench headed by Chief Justice R S Chauhan admonished the TSRTC in charge Managing Director Sunil Sharma for suppressing the facts about the government's dues to be paid by the government to the Corporation.

The MD in his affidavit had informed the court that the government had paid entire amount of Rs 644.51 crore to the TSRTC towards reimbursement of concession given by TSRTC to various categories of commuters during 2018-19.

The court questioned the officials as to how it can claim the loan given to the RTC for purchase of buses as reimbursement of concession.

Sunil Sharma said that the reimbursement dues were used to pay for diesel and salaries.

The officials informed the court that the TSRTC requested GHMC to release dues of Rs 1,492 crore towards operational losses, the GHMC had paid Rs 108 crore and Rs 228.40 crore for 2015-16 and 2016-17 and expressed its inability to pay the balance amount due to financial crunch.

Sunil Sharma also said that it was not binding on GHMC to compensate TSRTC, the court intervened and asked if that was the case why did the GHMC pay the money between 2015 and 2017.

It also questioned him if he had written to GHMC to pay dues for 2018-19.