Sweet tidings for Telangana staff in AP

Hyderabad: Over 800 Class IV employees of Telangana origin working in Andhra Pradesh will get relief as soon as the Telangana government initiates official process to bring them back to the native State before Ugadi festival next year.

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, as many as 833 employees belonging to Telangana were posted in Andhra government as part of the division of employees between the two States. The employees were working in various departments including Police, Revenue, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development and Municipal Administration and Urban Development departments in the united Andhra Pradesh. These employees were given posting in the same wings in the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh.

Taking into active consideration the long pending demand to bring back the Telangana employees, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao instructed the top brass of the State Finance Department to identify the possible creation of supernumerary posts in all departments. To ensure the adjustment of the employees, the departments were also instructed to stop hiring workforce on outsourcing basis.

The IT, Industries, Road Transport Authority, Agriculture, Irrigation, Energy, Endowments and BC, SC, ST and Minority Welfare wings were among the important departments that hired more than 2,000 outsourcing staff, a senior official of State Finance Department told The Hans India. The agreements entered with the private agencies which provided manpower to the departments would be terminated by January end, he said. All the vacant posts would be filled by the forth class employees by providing them required training. Drivers would be accommodated in the State directorates and other workers will be appointed in various departments.

Telangana Employees’ Union president A Padma Chary said the government had already initiated the exercise to create supernumerary posts in every department to accommodate all employees working in Andhra Pradesh. He said the employees were already facing trouble in working in the neighbouring State as their families were settled in Telangana mainly in Hyderabad city. Some of the workers also fell sick as they could not withstand the changed weather conditions in the new capital Amaravati and Vijayawada during their stay.

Since the AP government increased the retirement age of the government employee to 60 years, officials said the Telangana government was holding talks with AP counterpart to address the employees’ service-related problems during the repatriation of employees. Eyeing the 2019 elections, the government is targetting to complete the official process in four to five months’ time, according to official sources.