Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) providing a brand new luxury car to its chairman and MLA Bajireddy Govardhan led to widespread criticism. Opposition parties, unions and others criticised the decision of the RTC management to provide a swanky Kia car to its new chairman by spending Rs 37 lakh.
RTC workers' strike, Covid-19 pandemic and steep hike in fuel prices have adversely affected the financial position of the corporation for the last few years. The RTC is unable to pay salaries to its employees on time and defaulted retirement benefits to a few of its employees. RTC employees are under tremendous pressure on the survival of the corporation as it has been incurring heavy losses.
In this context, the state government appointed senior IPS officer V.C. Sajjanar as vice chairman and managing director of the corporation. Consequently, the state government also nominated Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) Nizamabad rural MLA Bajireddy Govardhan as its chairman. Govardhan aspired ministerial berth or chairman’s post of Rythu Samanvaya Samiti, but in vain.
Speaking to this newspaper, Mahila Congress state president J. Sunita Rao said there was no need to buy a luxury car for Govardhan as RTC had been facing severe financial losses. If the TRS government was sincere about utilisation of public money, it should not buy luxury cars for RTC chairman and additional collectors in the districts by replacing existing condition vehicles, she said.
“It is shameful on the part of RTC management and the state government to purchase a luxury car during the financial crisis,” she criticised.
“Govardhan should have rejected the proposal of the corporation to buy a new luxury car for him,” the Congress leader said, adding that the decision showed the insincerity of the government towards TSRTC.
When contacted, TSRTC former chairman and BJP senior leader Somarapu Satyanarayana said the corporation used to provide new cars to its chairmen, but it was not the appropriate time. “When I was nominated as RTC chairman, the corporation officials offered me a luxury car, but I hesitated to take it,” he recalled.
On a protocol basis, RTC provided the new car, but I judiciously used a corporation vehicle and my personal car depending on the need, he explained.
Govardhan was not available to comment on the luxury car even though this newspaper tried to contact him several times.
