Hyderabad, March 12 : Telangana Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar on Saturday informed the Assembly that the plying of state-owned RTC buses have come down in the Greater Hyderabad M cipal Corporation (GHMC) area. Replying to a question from the members in the house during the question hour, Kumar said that it was not true that the TSRTC is not meeting the present commuters demand in the Greater Hyderabad M cipal Corporation (GHMC) area and other districts in the state. Agreeing that the number of city buses and minibuses has come down in the GHMC area, the Minister said steps have been taken to augment the number of buses. In view of precarious financial condition due to impact of Covid-19 and continuous hike in diesel prices, the performance of services was reviewed and the heavy loss making and un-remunerative operations were curtailed in the GHMC area, he clarified. While giving details of the buses in the state and GHMC, the Minister said in the year 2014, the state has 9,800 TSRTC buses all over the state. Of them, there are 3,554 buses in the GHMC area. In the year 2022, the state is having 9057 TSRTC buses across the state. Of them, 2,865 buses are in the GHMC area, he said. At present the Corporation was passing through a critical phase financially and hence the plan for augmentation of buses is put on hold temporarily, Kumar added. VV CS1714