Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday assured to provide all support to revive and strengthen the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), which suffered losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rao, who chaired a high-level review meeting here, instructed the Finance Department to immediately release Rs 120 crore to the corporation towards payment of two months 50 per cent pending salaries of its workers pertaining to the lockdown period.
Rao instructed authorities to increase bus services by 50 per cent in Hyderabad city and also discussed providing job security to the TSRTC workers, according to an official release.
KCR, as Rao is also referred to, said: “The TSRTC was getting back on the track and was on road to earn profits when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But we will revive the TSRTC.”
According to Rao, the Telangana government is protecting the State Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) despite several difficulties.
The government is providing job security to employees, Rao said, pointing out it had opposed tooth and nail attempts made by some to privatise the power sector.
Moreover, the government has regularised thousands of the contract employees of the electricity department, he said.
“On the other hand, the Centre is privatising PSUs including the LIC. But, the state government is protecting its PSUs. I will not sleep till the TSRTC is put back on its track. I will protect TSRTC as long as I am here,” the release quoted Rao as saying.
“Hence, without thinking about the loss or profits that the TSRTC is making, we will protect it for the larger public interest… The government will financially assist the TSRTC,” he added.
TSRTC officials informed Rao that due to the coronavirus pandemic and with people preferring to use private vehicles, occupancy rate of the RTC buses had come down drastically which resulted in the corporation incurring heavy losses.
Rao instructed the officials to take appropriate decisions and get over the difficulties created by the pandemic.
The chief minister said the cargo services introduced by the TSRTC have become a big hit and people are patronising it and hoped that like the Indian Railways, TSRTC would also earn profits through its cargo services.