AP Govt's Landmark Decision On RTC Merger

In a revolutionary step, the Andhra Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to merge the State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) with the state government. In doing so, YS Jagan fulfilled a promise he made to RTC employees as Leader of Opposition on many occasions during the course of his 14-month long walkathon, Praja Sankalpa Yatra, through the length and breadth of Andhra Pradesh from November 2017 to January 2019. Within 200 days of assuming office, the AP chief minister took this historic, employee-friendly initiative to merge the corporation into the state government.

The state legislative assembly had passed the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Services Bill – 2019) on December 16, 2019.

This momentous step in the history of the Corporation would now mean that RTC employees in Andhra Pradesh have become a part of the newly constituted Public Transport Department. The landmark decision taken by the young chief minister would also ensure job security to 51, 488 employees of the corporation who would become state government employees from January 1, 2020.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced in the state assembly on December 16, 2019, that all RTC employees would be treated as government staff from January 1, 2020, and that the retirement age would be increased from 58 to 60 years, a proclamation hailed by the staff as a life-transforming one to all of them.

The Andhra Pradesh government, through this landmark move, would take upon itself APSRTC's financial burden of Rs. 3,600 crores annually.

YS Jagan had stated during the course of his walkathon and on other occasions, that with proper management and better planning, the APSRTC could be turned around into a well-run, cost-effective organisation, which could serve the public transport needs of the people efficiently.

The Andhra Pradesh government had in October 2019, constituted a seven-member working group to study and submit an action plan on the merger of APSRTC with the government. The committee was mandated with the task of studying pay scales, an effective public transport system, posts and designations, as also service conditions which would apply to various categories of employees among other things.

This ground-breaking initiative by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddyfulfils a long-standing demand of the Corporation employees and according to management experts and analysts will serve as a motivating impulse to perform better.