State writes to ECI on TSRTC merger

According to sources, the State is said to have written to the ECI, stressing on the urgency to fix a date for commencement of Act No 7 of 2023, which was published by the Law Department to provide for absorption of employees of the TSRTC into government service and to provide for related matters.

Hyderabad: The State government is learned to have written to the Election Commission of India, asking for permission to move ahead with the proposed merger of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation with the government.

According to sources, the State is said to have written to the ECI, stressing on the urgency to fix a date for commencement of Act No 7 of 2023, which was published by the Law Department to provide for absorption of employees of the TSRTC into government service and to provide for related matters.

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The State, the sources said, has pointed out that with the Model Code of Conduct coming into force after the publication of the Act, the ECI’s permission was required for further action. Therefore, the proposal to accord permission to fix a date for the commencement of the Act was placed before the Screening Committee on the Model Code of Conduct. The recommendation of the committee is required as the absorption of the employees into government service cannot be implemented until the date for the Act No.7 to commence is fixed.

The State Cabinet had on July 31 approved the proposal to absorb the services of regular employees on the rolls of the TSRTC into government service. Following this, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Assembly and passed on August 6.

The Governor, after raising doubts over the bill’s provisions had finally cleared the bill on September 14, with the Law Department publishing the Act No 7 in the State Gazette on September 15. The file was circulated to higher ups for necessary orders, and in the meantime, the election schedule was announced, bringing the Model Code of Conduct into vogue.