Hyderabad: Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, the CLP leader, stated that the merger of TSRTC with the government is a victory for the Congress party. He mentioned that the Congress had promised to merge TSRTC with the government once it came to power, which forced Chief Minister KCR to take this step.
Vikramarka emphasized that the Congress had previously demanded the merger of RTC with the government, and everyone knows how KCR responded at that time. He recalled that KCR had dismissed the demand by saying that the opposition parties were talking nonsense. Vikramarka asserted that all the assets of RTC belong to the people, and the Congress will take responsibility for protecting them.
During a six-hour-long cabinet meeting, the state cabinet made a major decision to merge TSRTC with the government. A bill for this merger will be introduced in the state Assembly, which is scheduled to meet from August 3. Once passed by the Assembly, TSRTC employees will be considered government employees. This demand has been pending for almost seven to eight years. In 2019, TSRTC went on a 41-day strike, with around 48,000 employees participating. Unfortunately, 27 people lost their lives during the strike. The merger will benefit approximately 43,000 employees.
The Cabinet also discussed the impact of rains on agriculture, the flood situation, and the damages caused by floods. They released Rs 500 crore for relief measures. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao instructed the Finance department to release the funds. The flood situation in 10 districts of the state is severe, and repairs are required for the right retention wall of Munneru. To meet the transportation needs due to rapid industrialization, public transport in Hyderabad will be improved. The Hyderabad Metro rail will be expanded over the next four years, including projects such as Rayadurgam to Airport, Jubilee bus stand to Tumkunta metro, double-decker flyovers on important roads, and the expansion of the Vijayawada route up to Peddambarpet. Approximately 150 km of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) will also be covered. The estimated cost of the metro rail project is 60,000 crore.
