Hyderabad: Transport and BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that the Congress govt is committed to merging employees of TGSRTC with the govt and is awaiting the committee report on the merger. He said the previous BRS govt neglected the corporation and that the accumulated losses from 2014 to 2023 amounted to Rs 12,750 crore. He added that the govt is introducing many reforms in the RTC to make it a profitable public-sector unit. He also dismissed rumours that electric vehicles were being introduced to shut down the RTC.Replying on the discussion on grants for the transport department in the legislative assembly on Saturday, the minister said that after the introduction of the Mahalakshmi scheme, the corporation turned profitable. As of Feb 28, the RTC’s total liabilities stand at Rs 9,722 crore, including bank loans of Rs 2,791 crore and employee dues totalling Rs 6,931 crore.“In 2023-24, it earned a profit of Rs 104 crore, while in 2024-25, it incurred a loss of Rs 2,848 crore, primarily due to Rs 3,438 crore allocated towards arrears pending since 2017 for employees. In the financial year 2025-26 (up to Feb 2026), the corporation earned an operating profit of Rs 954.86 crore,” the minister said.He said that RTC has placed an order for 500 electric buses in Hyderabad on a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) basis, of which 401 are currently operational in the city, with plans to introduce the remaining 99 by May 2026. “Since 2019, 40 electric buses have been operating from various locations in Hyderabad to RGIA. In 2023, orders were placed for 510 electric buses for district and interstate services on a GCC basis. These buses are already operating on routes from Hyderabad to Vijayawada, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Warangal,” the minister said.Under the Centre’s PM e-Drive initiative, all diesel buses in Hyderabad will be replaced with electric ones by Dec 2027, in line with the state govt’s policy. Under the same scheme, Hyderabad has been allocated 2,000 e-buses, with 200 buses assigned under Tender-11, he said. “There is no truth to rumours that depots are being privatised due to electric buses, and no employee will be laid off because of them,” Ponnam said. He added that all bus operations and maintenance, including those of electric buses, will remain under the full control of RTC depots.‘Student Welcome Kits’ from next academic yearThe minister stated the govt has allocated Rs 12,511 crore for BC welfare schemes, as the caste survey revealed that the BC population in Telangana is 56%. He said the govt is committed to the social, educational, livelihood, and economic advancement of the backward and economically disadvantaged classes in the state.He said that for the upcoming academic year, the govt has decided to distribute a ‘Student Welcome Kit’ to all residential school students on the day schools reopen. This kit will include textbooks, notebooks, uniforms, bed sheets, carpets, towels, blankets, shoes, socks, school bags, belts, ties, ID cards, stationery kits, tracksuits, PT dresses, night dresses, plates, glasses, bowls & spoons, trunk boxes/travel bags, and approximately 20 other items.For the next financial year, a decision has been made to modernise the kitchens of Gurukul schools, he added. The minister alleged that the previous BRS govt neglected nutrition and education, where as the Congress govt, upon coming to power, has significantly increased diet charges, providing quality nutrition and education to millions of students. “From 2014-15 to 2023-24, over the past 10 years, a total expenditure of Rs 2,947 crore was incurred on BC residential schools by the BRS govt, whereas the Congress govt alone spent Rs 2,232 crore in just the last two years,” the minister added.
