Bhopal, Jan 6 (Inditop.com) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to intervene and resolve the matter regarding the shutting down of the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPRTC) and granting voluntary retirement from service (VRS) to its employees.
In a letter to the prime minister Tuesday, Chouhan also expressed concern over the “inconsistent response” of central ministries on the closure of the state transport body which, he said, has been hanging in balance since 2005.
The mandatory approval for closure of MPRTC was sought from the central ministries of road transport and highways, and labour and employment. Also, the finance ministry was urged to fund 60 percent of settlement of liabilities.
“Though the road transport and highways ministry gave its no-objection in March 2005 and the ministry of finance released Rs.44.91 crore towards VRS, the union ministry of labour and employment rejected the state’s application,” Chouhan said.
The process of closure, Chouhan said, has reached an irreversible stage with 93 percent of the 10,719 employees having opted for VRS. “Moreover, all the 681 nationalised bus routes operated by the corporation have also been denationalised,” he pointed out.
Surprisingly, the road transport and highways ministry in November last year withdrew its ‘no objection’ with the result that the ministry of labour also rejected the pending review application of the state.
“As such you are requested to intervene to harmonise the views of the union ministries and the state government,” Chouhan asked the prime minister.
