Hyderabad Mail: Hyderabad: Tuesday, 26 May 2026.
The Telangana State Road
Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) revealed under the Right to Information (RTI)
Act that it has engaged 1,675 drivers exclusively through outsourcing since the
state’s formation on June 2, 2014. TGSRTC did not recruit a single driver directly
during this twelve-year period. However, the corporation denied access to
contracts with manpower agencies, citing a transparency law provision.
Providing more details, TGSRTC shared this information with Hyderabad-based RTI activist Kareem Ansari. In response to a query on year-wise recruitment, the corporation stated it made no direct recruitments during this period. Instead, it hired all 1,675 drivers through external contractors.
Turning to the current workforce, as of April 2026, the Corporation employs 12,623 regular drivers, 6 casual drivers, 24 contract drivers, and 1,675 outsourced drivers. Outsourced drivers form about 11.7% of the total driver pool. They represent all new driving personnel recruited since 2014.
Expanding on this, the RTI response listed 53 private entities that have supplied or managed drivers for the state-owned bus corporation. The list includes large facility management firms and individual contractors.
Regionally, the data shows Medak has the highest number of outsourced drivers (260), followed by Khammam (241), Nizamabad (190), and Nalgonda (18). Hyderabad and Sangareddy each have 168 outsourced drivers.
However, while providing most of the numerical data, TGSRTC refused to share copies of contracts with these 53 agencies. The corporation rejected the query under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, which protects commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property that could harm a third party’s competitive position.
Regarding financial details, the Corporation said the data on total payments to these agencies is not readily available and would require compilation. Citing a Supreme Court judgment in CBSE vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011), the PIO argued that the RTI Act does not require a public authority to collect or collate information it doesn’t already have.
When asked if the Telangana government approved the outsourcing of drivers, TGSRTC replied, “No.” RTI activists have expressed concern about relying on outsourced labour for core operations like driving, especially given the denial of access to contracts.
Providing more details, TGSRTC shared this information with Hyderabad-based RTI activist Kareem Ansari. In response to a query on year-wise recruitment, the corporation stated it made no direct recruitments during this period. Instead, it hired all 1,675 drivers through external contractors.
Turning to the current workforce, as of April 2026, the Corporation employs 12,623 regular drivers, 6 casual drivers, 24 contract drivers, and 1,675 outsourced drivers. Outsourced drivers form about 11.7% of the total driver pool. They represent all new driving personnel recruited since 2014.
Expanding on this, the RTI response listed 53 private entities that have supplied or managed drivers for the state-owned bus corporation. The list includes large facility management firms and individual contractors.
Regionally, the data shows Medak has the highest number of outsourced drivers (260), followed by Khammam (241), Nizamabad (190), and Nalgonda (18). Hyderabad and Sangareddy each have 168 outsourced drivers.
However, while providing most of the numerical data, TGSRTC refused to share copies of contracts with these 53 agencies. The corporation rejected the query under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, which protects commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property that could harm a third party’s competitive position.
Regarding financial details, the Corporation said the data on total payments to these agencies is not readily available and would require compilation. Citing a Supreme Court judgment in CBSE vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011), the PIO argued that the RTI Act does not require a public authority to collect or collate information it doesn’t already have.
When asked if the Telangana government approved the outsourcing of drivers, TGSRTC replied, “No.” RTI activists have expressed concern about relying on outsourced labour for core operations like driving, especially given the denial of access to contracts.
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