Hyderabad: RTC merger move hits roadblock

Hyderabad: Will TSRTC become another issue of standoff between Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and the state government? It appears so as the government had sent the draft bill known as – Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill 2023 for clearance of the Governor on Tuesday as the bill has financial implications and as per the rules the Governor has to give her nod. The state government said on Friday that the Governor had not responded to the draft bill yet. Reacting to it, Raj Bhavan authorities clarified that the draft bill was received at Raj Bhavan at 3.30 pm on August 3 requesting for permission to introduce the same in the ongoing Assembly session.

The Governor was obtaining legal opinion and cannot do anything in a hurry, they added. This has raised doubts over the possibility of the bill being introduced in the ongoing session of the Assembly.

Sources said the Chief Minister was also consulting the legal experts to break the deadlock on the approval of the draft bill by the Governor. The CM wanted to complete the merger of the RTC with the government by August end. If it is delayed, it may not be possible to do so till the new government is formed as the code may come in force once the poll notification was issued. The notification is expected in October.