: A majority of employees of the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat have emphatically articulated the view that instead of shifting in phases from June 27, they should represent to the government to extend time to shift all of them in one go in March or April 2017, when the entire temporary Secretariat at Velagapudi will be ready for occupation.
Interestingly, if senior employees are yet to come to terms with the idea of moving to Velagapudi by June last week, junior employees with young children who already made arrangements by renting houses and secured admission for their kids in primary schools closer to new Secretariat are also becoming restive. They want the government to relieve them by June 1 itself and give them postings either in Chief Minister’s office or other departments till the road map for shifting process was finalised.
These views were aired at the general body meeting held by the AP Secretariat Employees Coordination Committee here on Thursday. The demand for shifting to Velagapudi in next April has been gaining traction apparently as the State government itself is not ready with a road map so far nor issued orders on oral assurances given to employees’ associations — five-day week, retaining 30 per cent HRA allowance as in Hyderabad, dislocation allowance and amendment to the President Order on local status.
Additional expenditure
About 80 per cent of employees will leave behind their families here as their children were in engineering, medicine and other professional courses. Such families should be prepared for additional expenditure of Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 because of accommodation at two places, travel etc., for at least two to three years. Some parents had already paid advance school fee here.
Coordination Committee Chairman U. Muralikrishna explained to the employees the discussions held with the government, Minister Narayana, and the outcome.
He said employees associations were likely to meet the Chief Minister at his office in Vijayawada on May 16 or 17 to convey their concerns.
They expected a road map in two or three days after their meeting with the Chief Minister, he said.
Later speaking to media persons, Mr. Muralikrishna said that about 1,600 Secretariat employees would have to shift to new capital region from June 27 to August and they would convey the concerns of senior as well as junior employees to the Chief Minister.
It would be helpful if government issued orders before May 25 and sanctioned advance for employees to prepare for relocation.
The orders on three-day special leave were issued and order on five-day week and local status of employees’ children were expected soon.
On retaining skeletal staff in Hyderabad, Mr. Muralikrishna said a committee of senior officers was formulating guidelines to consider employees with exigencies.
Planning to meet Chief Minister soon in this regard
U. Muralikrishna
Coordination panel chief
