HC Irked At "Fabricated" Financial Statement On RTC

The Telangana High Court lambasted both the State government and the TSRTC management for submitting a "fudged and fabricated" statement of accounts regarding the actual reimbursement amount due from the GHMC to the RTC.

The case of the ongoing RTC strike in the State came up before the High Court once again today, and as directed, the incharge MD of RTC Sunil Sharma and another Secretary of the State government attended the court and presented affidavits in the form of financial statements regarding the reimbursement arrears to be received by the RTC from the GHMC for losses being incurred in running the buses in the city.

After perusing the financial statement, the court expressed its ire and dissatisfaction over the "fabricated and false" accounts. What annoyed the court was that the amounts spent on the purchases of buses, diesel and spare parts were shown as reimbursed amount.

The statement showed that only Rs 336 crore was paid by the GHMC for the years 2015-2017 out of the Rs 1,786 crore demanded. The GHMC has said that it is not in a position to pay any more amounts due to a financial crunch. Since there was no agreement or contract between the GHMC and RTC to reimburse the losses, the question of any arrears did not arise, the incharge MD of the TSRTC pointed.

Expressing strong displeasure with the stance taken by the RTC MD, the court wondered why he was taking the side of the government instead of fighting for the cause of the RTC. The court also expressed its displeasure that though two IAS officers were present at the hearing no proper and factually complete reports were coming forth regarding the financial position of the RTC.

The court adjourned the case to November 7 and directed the RTC and the government to come up with correct financial figures.