Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has granted her approval for the introduction of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill 2023 in the Assembly with certain recommendations. These include setting aside TSRTC’s assets for its sole use, the state government taking over the responsibility for maintenance of buses, and employee benefits among other issues.
After seeking two rounds of clarifications from the state government and receiving a response from the latter, the Governor called a meeting of officials of the Transport Department and Roads and Buildings Department at Raj Bhavan on the afternoon of Sunday, August 6. As Sunday is the last day of the Assembly session, uncertainty prevailed briefly on whether the Bill will receive the Governor’s approval for the introduction.
The draft Bill of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill, 2023 aimed at absorbing over 43,000 employees of TSRTC into the government service was sent to the governor on Wednesday. Since it is a money bill, it needs the Governor’s approval for introducing the same in the Assembly.
After the government submitted a reply to clarifications sought on Friday, the Governor sought some more clarifications on Saturday. The final recommendations of the Governor to the state government over the TSRTC Bill are as follows:
1. It is recommended that the ownership of the lands, assets, and properties of the TSRTC should vest with the Corporation itself for its sole and exclusive use, even after the absorption of RTC employees as government employees. The government should give an explicit undertaking to that effect.
2. It is recommended that the assets be finally divided, and the process completed between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh pursuant to the AP Reorganization Act.
3. It is recommended to clarify and assume the liability of clearing the arrears from the erstwhile APSRTC.
4. It is recommended that the emoluments of the RTC employees once absorbed as government employees be on the same scale as other state government employees following pay scales, service rules, and regulations vis-à-vis salary, transfers, promotions, retirement pensions, or provident funds, and other gratuities.
5. It is recommended that the TSRTC employees already absorbed should have the feasibility and facility to request 'compassionate appointment' for family members on medical grounds if the employee becomes unfit for service owing to the extreme stress and physical strain of work with the RTC.
6. Disciplinary proceedings within the RTC are extremely stringent. Therefore, it is recommended that the disciplinary proceedings be more humane and in tandem with the same service rules and regulations as the remaining government employees and the relevant service rules.
7. If RTC absorbed employees are sent on deputation to other departments, it is recommended that their grade, pay, salary, and promotions, etc., be protected for their benefit so that there is no disturbance vis-à-vis their elevations and promotions.
8. It is recommended that the contract employees or outsourced employees be treated and given similar benefits and salaries pursuant to state service rules as regular employees, and their service be recognized and protected for further service in other capacities or departments, including provident fund.
9. It is recommended that the regular employees and contract employees, as long as they are in service, receive the same health benefits of RTC hospitals, government-sponsored treatment up to a certain level, and insurance benefits in tandem, and the families of regular employees also be included in the health benefits scheme.
10. The vitality and the stand of the RTC Unions and the Corporation itself in the upkeep of its buses. It is recommended that the government take over the maintenance of buses, etc., through outsourcing to an independent entity or in any other manner, undertaking to bear the financial burden of the maintenance and upkeep of the buses for the safety of the people.