RTC merger ‘flaws’ to be fixed: Ponnam
The Hindu
RTC merger ‘flaws’ to be fixed: Ponnam
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that the proposal for merging the TSRTC with the government would be discussed, as the previous BRS government had left it midway and there were several loopholes that have to be plugged.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, he said that BRS government had decided to merge only the employees into the sector, leaving out the huge RTC assets.
Mr. Prabhakar also said that the Mahalakshmi scheme was getting good response and the initial hiccups, if any, would be addressed as time goes by. The implementation would be reviewed periodically and loopholes fixed, he said.
He allayed fears that free bus travel would hit auto drivers’ business and said their interests would be protected. He also said that the Praja Darbar programme would be replicated across the State.
On BC Bandhu, he said the decisions taken in the past would be reviewed and transparency would be ensured in processing the applications.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.