Rental vehicle owners warn strike over unpaid dues; Harish Rao blames Congress govt

Rental vehicle owners in Telangana staged a protest near the Secretariat demanding immediate clearance of long-pending dues. With bills unpaid for up to two years in some districts, small contractors face financial distress. BRS MLA T Harish Rao criticised the Congress government for mismanagement and favouring large contractors.

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed near the Telangana Secretariat on Tuesday as government rental vehicle owners staged a protest and warned of halting services across the State immediately, unless their pending rentals were cleared.

The State government has not released the vehicle rental bills to private vehicle owners and contractors for over 10 months in Hyderabad and for nearly two years in the districts.

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Vehicle owners alleged that despite repeated representations, the Congress government failed to clear bills for vehicles hired by various departments, including those deployed at the Secretariat. They said dues in several districts have remained unpaid for nearly two years, pushing many small contractors into financial distress.

Taking to X, former Minister and BRS senior MLA T Harish Rao hit out at the government, stating that the Congress should be credited for turning the State Secretariat which is the administrative headquarters of the State, into a dharna chowk.

He reminded that due to pending bills, contractors, employees and several others have been staging protests at the Secretariat for the past few months, indicating total mismanagement.

Harish Rao said the government was selectively clearing bills of big contractors for commissions, while neglecting smaller service providers. He demanded that the Revanth Reddy government immediately release all pending vehicle rental payments to secure the lives of the rental vehicle owners.

పరిపాలన కేంద్రంగా ఉండాల్సిన సచివాలయం కాంగ్రెస్ పాలనలో ధర్నాచౌక్ లా మారింది.

పెండింగ్ బిల్లులు చెల్లించాలంటూ మొన్న చిన్న కాంట్రాక్టర్లు సచివాలయం లోపల ధర్నా చేస్తే..

బిల్లులు చెల్లించాలంటూ ప్రభుత్వ అద్దె వాహన యజమానులు సచివాలయం ఎదుట ఆందోళన చేసిన దుస్థితి.

కాంగ్రెస్ ప్రభుత్వ… pic.twitter.com/gi3s6d3tpa

— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) October 21, 2025