The State government is mulling for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation an introduction of voluntary retirement scheme.
According to sources who are aware of the development, the issue was discussed at a recent review meeting TSRTC officers had with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. It is learnt that Mr Rao was not satisfied with the functioning of the organisation, and expressed this at the meeting.
“I am told that this is done to lessen the burden of losses which the corporation is facing. At this time, it will be difficult to say what exactly is going to happen (in connection with the VRS scheme). It will probably be studied by the corporate office (in Bus Bhavan), before concrete steps are taken,” a source who did not wish to be identified said.
TSRTC officials, however, remained tight-lipped about the development. It is also unclear as to how many workers could be affected, however, the number is estimated to run into a few thousand, if the move goes through.
In the past few years, the transport juggernaut has been grappling with a reduction in the number of personnel. According to official figures, while in 2014-15 the staff strength was 56,140, in 2020-21, the number of workers dwindled to 48,352, which is a drop of 8,388 workers. The TSRTC has not embarked on fresh recruitments.
As the TSRTC management had stated in the recent past, the beleaguered organisation is facing crushing losses running into ₹ 2,600 crore. This is on account of increasing diesel prices and liabilities.
