'Merger not feasible with MSRTC': Maharashtra govt tells Bombay HC

The Maharashtra government Tuesday informed the Bombay High court that it was not possible to merge the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) with the state government.

Government counsel SC Naidu informed a division bench of Chief Justice (CJ) Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik that the three-member committee had recommended that merging of the MSRTC with the state government was not feasible.

The government had approved the recommendation as it was financially unviable to merge the transport corporation. However, Naidu said that they have instead accepted the demand for a pay hike for the MSTRC workers.

The HC is hearing a contempt petition filed by MSRTC after its workers went on strike in November last year to press their demand that they are being treated differently from the state government employees.

Aspi Chenoy, counsel for MSRTC, said that the transport corporation has decided to proceed with departmental inquiry and action against those workers who have refused to resume work despite repeated requests. Hence he sought permission to withdraw the contempt plea.

The judges, however, said that they have been hearing the issue for nearly six months now and hence would like to hear what the workers have to say on the government’s final decision.

Advocate Gunaratan Sadavarte, appearing for the workers, was not present for the hearing on Tuesday and hence the court kept the matter for hearing on Wednesday.

Earlier, MSRTC advocate GS Hegde had said that of the 82,000 workers, 28,000 have resumed work. He further said that the students in interior Maharashtra were facing hardship as the schools have reopened fully and they depend primarily on the state transport buses.

The MSRTC had also assured the Bombay HC that if the workers were to resume duty immediately, it would not take any action, including criminal action against those employees.