Eight IAS officers of the 2016 batch allotted to Telangana are at their wits end these days as they have been eagerly awaiting postings as the Sub Collectors in any of the 33 districts in the State for the last 10 months!
It was on October 10 last year that the eight IAS officers had completed their training — at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, in different departments in the Union and State governments — and reported here for posting. The TS government had then posted all of them as Special Officers in eight districts and till date they continue to work in the same position.
Officers awaiting postings as Sub Collectors or Project Officers of ITDA include Zendage Kondia (Special Officer, Khammam), Valluru Kranthi (Special Officer, Mahabubnagar), P. Pravinya (Special Officer, Karimnagar) P. Uday Kumar (Special Officer, Suryapet), Jitesh V. Patil (Special Officer, Sangareddy), Gopi B. (Special Officer, Adilabad), Badhavath Santosh (Special Officer, Warangal Rural) and Priyanka Ala (Special Officer, Yadadri Bhongir).
Model code
At the time of their allotment to the State after training, the Model Code of Conduct was in force for the Assembly elections in December and then the General Elections which ended only in May delayed their posting.
However, although the Model Code of Conduct had come to end months ago, there is still no word whether these officers would get posting even as 10 IAS officers of the 2017 batch have been allotted to Telangana and are undergoing training as Assistant Collectors.
Officers surprised
Senior officials themselves are surprised at the delay in postings. “There is no reason why these officers should still continue in their present posts,” they said, seeking anonymity.
Apparently, the Telangana IAS Officers Association too had discussed the issue and decided to take it up with Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi, but “nothing has materialised after that,” they noted.
While there have been sporadic instances of officers not getting postings, this time it has been a long wait for the young officers eager to work in the districts.
“It is sad that while their batchmates in other States have already been posted as Sub Collectors, these officers are still awaiting orders,” senior officials lamented.
Laid out conventions
“There are well laid out conventions and practices which now stand diluted. There is bound to be lot of discontent and frustration among these officers. Earlier, united Andhra Pradesh was a preferred State for postings but it is not the case any more,” the senior officers observed.
There is a school of thought which thinks the Union Department of Personnel in the Centre can intervene in these matters but no one is sure what is going to happen next.
