Can the State government not release ₹47 crore to concede five out of the 45 demands of striking RTC workers to “tide over the crisis” and “rebuild a relationship” with the agitating employees?
Making this observation, the Telangana High Court on Monday directed Advocate General B.S. Prasad to verify the claims of the striking RTC workers that State government owed to the Corporation close to ₹3,000 crore under different heads. Declining to give two days time sought by the AG to respond, the HC posted the matter to Tuesday for further hearing. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy passed the direction after hearing arguments for two hours in the tightly packed First Court hall.
The Bench summoned the AG to appear before it in the middle of the arguments as Additional Advocate General J. Ramchander Rao stuck to his guns that government was not in a position to give money to the RTC. The Bench was apparently unhappy over the AAG’s firm stand even as it repeatedly requested to consider the possibility of releasing ₹47 crore to concede at least five demands of striking RTC employees. The demands included reimbursement of referral hospital bills and uniform expenses.
Buffer zone
“Sir, there is something called additional budget... a buffer zone... government cannot say I am bankrupt,” the CJ said as the AAG replied the State government had no funds. All home makers keep aside something for that rainy day, the CJ observed, but the AAG said the strike matter needed to to be sent to competent authority for adjudication. As the AAG tried to explain further, the CJ said: “don’t tell us about our powers under Article 226 and please call the AG”.
As Mr. Prasad turned up, the Bench sought to know if the State was really not in a position to release a few crores of rupees to clear some demands of the workers while spending thousands of crores on other projects. The CJ said even the Chief Secretary and the Finance Secretary would be called to explain the actual position to understand the situation.
With the AG noting that the conduct of employee unions was not correct, the CJ said the children cannot be starved if the wife and the husband fight on some issue. “Our concern is the plight and agony of common man,” said the CJ. “Would the State let a child affected by dengue and required to be shifted from Adilabad to Hyderabad die saying it doesn’t have money,” the Bench asked, noting that the State needs to be generous.
Dues to RTC
When the petitioners’ counsel D. Prakash Reddy said the government cannot hold workers responsible for the losses, the Bench said both the workers and the RTC should not indulge in a blame game.
However, it directed the AG to verify the claims made by Mr. Prakash Reddy that the GHMC had to pay close to ₹1,000 crore to the RTC as per earlier decision of the State government.
Similarly, the State government had to release several hundreds of crores of rupees to the RTC towards reimbursement of concessions given to different persons. All this amounted to nearly ₹3,000 crore, Mr. Reddy contended.
