NASHIK/MUMBAI: Hopes revived for the striking MSRTC employees who have been demanding merger of the corporation with State government after the Bombay High Court sought panel report on merger plan from the committee appointed by the government. In Nashik District, close to 200 ST buses are plying on the road and more staffers are getting back to work with each passing day.
The employees, who have joined the duty, along with those recruited on contract and the retired employees of the MSRTC are running the intra-district and inter-district bus services. In the meantime, the Bombay High Court on Friday extended time till February 18 for the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and the state government to submit the report of a committee appointed to look into the demand of the corporation’s staffers to be treated as government employees.
Nearly 90,000 corporation staffers have been on strike since October last year to press for the demand. The strike entered 100th day yesterday. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand S Karnik granted the MSRTC’s request for more time after the high-level committee failed to submit its report by February 3, within the 12-week time given by the court on November 8, 2021, when it ordered the constitution of the committee.
The three-member panel is headed by the chief secretary and has the MSRTC managing director as its coordinator. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was required to apprise the court of his views on the committee’s recommendations before February 5.
“Compliance of order dated November 8 is in progress in the right earnest, and some more time is required, at least till February 18, to report to the court that the order dated November 8 is complied in its entirety,” the state’s counsel submitted.
