The plea of Telangana native employees working in Andhra Pradesh to be brought back to their native State appears to be more complex than what the State government had expected.
Notwithstanding the political intent of the Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who held out a promise for repatriation of all native Telangana employees working under Andhra Pradesh government, it is becoming apparent that the issue got entwined in various bilateral issues between the two States.
Sources in the know say: Firstly, the number of Class IV employees the Chief Minister promised to take back is large, about 800 and burden on the State resources will be huge if supernumerary posts will have to be created to accommodate the surplus staff. Secondly, according to sources, Telangana government expects a give and take approach from the AP government to reciprocate and take back Andhra native employees working in Telangana.
Many zonal cadre employees of Andhra nativity but working in Telangana districts like Adilabad and their spouses working in Andhra are equally eager to go back to Andhra Pradesh. To satisfy the native employees in both the States pleading for repatriation, a comprehensive solution has to be worked out in a cordial atmosphere so that employees movement can start - of class IV employees as well as zonal cadre employees, they explain. Telangana Government will not like to find itself in a situation where it will take back its native employees while Andhra native employees continue to work in Telangana because of financial implications. “ With the issue now before the Governor, we hope a solution will emerge soon,” sources added. But the hopes of native Telangana employees are turning to that of despair after a wait of over two-and-a-half years. For Andhra native employees working in Telangana too, sources say, time is running out.
If they don’t go to AP before June 2, their children would not get local candidate status granted by AP government with approval of Centre, as a special concession to the Telugu States that are still bound by Article 371 D of Constitution. This is a matter of worry for Telangana native employees too looking for mutual transfers with Andhra native employees to swap States. If the issue drags on beyond June 2, then the Andhra native employees may be compelled to stay back rather than risking their children’s future.
First in the list of employees eager to return to Telangana State from Velagapudi are about 800 Class IV employees allotted to AP under the AP State Reorganisation Act.
Mutual considerations
Then there are 507 zonal cadre employees seeking to come back to Telangana from AP. There are about 1,000 Andhra native zonal cadre employees in Telangana districts who want to return to their native State through mutual and spouse case considerations. An official committee of both the States gave its guidelines for inter-State transfer of zonal cadre employees. They were approved by AP CM and awaiting approval of Telangana CM. “ We represented to the government to also forego our seniority in lieu of inter-State transfer,” Telangana native employees working in AP said.
