RTC union threatens stir over land allotment to LuLu Group in Vijayawada

The A.P. Public Transport Department Employees Union has threatened to launch an agitation if the State government does not cancel G.O. No. 137, which allots APSRTC land in Vijayawada to the LuLu Group for the construction of a shopping mall.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, union zonal secretary B. Krishna Murthy said that the RTC land in question, located at Governorpet 1 & 2 Depots and the Old Bus Stand, is valued at around ₹400 crore. The land, situated in the heart of Vijayawada city, currently serves 200 buses and over 1,100 employees, besides catering to thousands of commuters daily.

He said the land had originally been acquired by APSRTC in 1959 at ₹16 per square yard for a total of ₹4.60 lakh, and strongly opposed its allotment to private entities. He suggested that if the government aims to develop ‘Navyandhra Pradesh’, commercial complexes like shopping malls should be set up on the outskirts of the city to boost suburban development.

Criticising the move, Mr. Krishna Murthy said allotting prime RTC land while announcing free bus travel for women from August 15 would adversely affect female passengers. He alleged that the government was trying to privatise the RTC through backdoor methods by handing over its assets to private players.

Citing earlier instances, he said the RTC Training College in Vijayawada, spread over 29 acres, was handed to a private company in 2014, and in 2017 there were attempts to depict the Governorpet Depots as being in a ‘buffer zone’ to facilitate similar transfers. He claimed that despite RTC employees working for the electoral success of the TDP-led alliance, the new government was now attempting to weaken the corporation.

Union State secretary N.V. Rama Rao, zonal joint secretary M.S. Narayana, and other leaders G. Tatalu, M. Sankara Rao, K.S.M.S. Swami, K. Srinivasa Rao, and V.V. Rao were also present at the press meet.