Ruckus at APSRTC board meeting

• TS unions worried over demerger scheme
• Meeting to be called again in a fortnight

Hyderabad: The Board of Directors meeting of the AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) had to be called off abruptly on Friday amidst noisy scenes, as the Union leaders of Telangana Employees Union (TEU) and Telangana Mazdoor Union(TMU) raised objections that they were not been given the copies of the report on demerger scheme prepared by Jawahar Consultancy. Vice-president and MD J Poornachandra Rao told the Directors that the meeting would be called again in next 15 days.

K Padmakar Rao, General Secretary of the APSRTC Employees Union (EU), told The Hans India that the Board meeting was postponed after the two Union leaders, who were on the Board demanded, several clarifications on the Jawahar Consultancy’s report on demerger. They also demanded immediate bifurcation of the RTC administration into AP and Telangana divisions. The MD sought time of at least 10 days on these aspects and postponed the meeting.

However, K Raji Reddy, General Secretary of the TSRTC Employees Union, claimed that the meeting was postponed after TSRTC workers demanded copies of the Jawahar Consultancy report on demerger. In fact, there was commotion just before the Board of Directors meeting at the Bus Bhavan as workers were pushed away by the police.

Though the contents of Jawahar Consultancy’s report have not yet been disclosed, TSRTC Union leaders fear that the report has recommended common ownership of three key properties of APSRTC in Hyderabad: the Bus Bhavan, Tarnaka RTC Hospital and the Bus-Building Unit (BBU) at Miyapur.

However, Damodar Rao, Joint General Secretary of the APSRTC EU said: “There is nothing unduly worrisome in the Jawahar Consultancy report. The report has no sanctity as it is only an audit report.”