(Apropos to the investigative reporting by Ahmed Ali Fayyaz that was posted on the Blog on November 28, 2007, the Government concedes to the rot in SRTC.)
Govt wakes up to SRTC ‘death’
Cancels 143 Illegal Appointments Made In 2007
SHEIKH AJAZ
Srinagar Jan 4: State government on Friday cancelled the appointments ordered in the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) during last year. “It is hereby ordered that the appointments/engagements made in SRTC on consolidated basis during 2007 in violation of prescribed procedure are cancelled with immediate effect,” an order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) reads. The order (No. 1515-GAD of 2007) mentions cancellation of 143 appointments made in the corporation in 2007. The appointments, according to many SRTC employees, were made in brazen violation of rules and regulations. The employees have been protesting against the appointments for the past many months, seeking their cancellation.
“From past one year we’ve been protesting against the illegal appointments; finally the government admitted its fault. The cancellation of illegal appointments would surely end severe financial crisis plaguing the corporation,” said an SRTC employee, Muhammad Ramzan.
Another employee, Noor Muhammad said, “It is not our hobby to raise protests, but we wanted to expose the rot.” According to SRTC sources there’re myriad reasons that have turned the corporation into a proverbial white elephant. The issue of illegal appointments is one.
The other major reason for SRTC’s downfall is plying of buses on non-profitable routes. “Dozens of our buses operate on the recommendations of many MLAs and ministers in their non-descript constituencies,” the sources said. “If we ply some of those buses on other routes, we’ll end up as gainers.”
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