AP state government considering to takeover RTC
VIJAYAWADA: The AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is considering the demand of the unions for the state takeover of the corporation.
At present the APSRTC, one of the institutions listed in the ninth schedule of the AP State Reorganisation Act, 2014, is yet to be bifurcated. To speed up the process, an expert committee headed by former IAS officer Sheila Bhide is going into various aspects of division of assets, liabilities and division of employees.
According to executive director A Venkateswara Rao, the proposal for state takeover is being studied and at a later date a report would be submitted to both Telangana and AP governments for them to take a decision on whether the government could take over the corporation.
'Transport Corporations in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh are state run. We are examining how the states are running those corporations and whether the same model could be replicated here.
Once the state government takes over the corporation, the revenue that would accrue to the corporation would go straight into the state treasury and salaries of all employees would be paid from the treasury,' Rao said.
Referring to progress of bifurcation of the corporation, Rao said that at present the issue of division of state cadre employees is being addressed. There are 2,500 state cadre officers out of the 1.25 lakh staff.
As regards staff, there is no problem because they would continue to work wherever they are working now. The problem arose only in respect of the state cadre officers. 'We had thought of adopting Kamalanathan Committee model but finally we are evolving our own model for division,' he said.
After the bifurcation of the corporation, Bus Bhavan, headquarters of the corporation, would have to be set up in AP. 'We want to construct the building close to where the secretariat comes up so that attending meetings by officials at the secretariat becomes easy.
Nonetheless we are considering locations such as Guntur and Gannavaram near Vijayawada. Simultaneously, we have sought space for construction of Bus Bhavan in the new capital wherever it finally comes up,' he said.
News Posted: 13 December, 2014
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