‘Go to Andhra Pradesh’ DOPT rejects IAS, IPS officers’ requests to remain in TG Major administrative shake-up likely in Telangana

NAVEENA GHANATE
The Centre has rejected the objections of some IAS and IPS officers who had requested permission to remain in Telangana after the bifurcation of United AP.
The officers, including prominent ones like Vakati Karuna, Ronald Rose, Amrapali Kata, Vaniprasad, Mallela Prashanthi, and IPS officers Anjani Kumar, Abhilasha Bisht and Abhishek Mohanty had asked the Centre to allot them to Telangana. However, their requests have been turned down, and they have now been ordered to report in Andhra Pradesh by October 16.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued orders relieving these officers from Telangana and directing them to take charge in Andhra Pradesh.
In a simultaneous move, some Telangana cadre IAS officers serving in Andhra Pradesh like SS Rawat, Ananth Ramu, Srujana and Sivashankar have been relieved by the DoPT and will now return to Telangana.
After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh the Centre allotted officials to both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Many officers objected to these transfers and tried to remain in Telangana due to personal or professional reasons. They approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and it ruled in their favour and allowed them to stay in Telangana.
However, the Centre filed a petition against the CAT ruling in the Telangana High Court. Earlier, in March, the Telangana High Court ordered the Centre to re-examine the officers’ requests. Retired IAS officer Deepak Khandekar was appointed to review the objections. After his report, the Centre decided to reject the officers’ requests and transfer them to AP.
The development comes after the rejection of a similar appeal by former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar who failed to get any relief after challenging the Pratyush Sinha Committee’s recommendations allotting him to AP.  Somesh subsequently resigned and took VRS. The development has sparked discussions around cadre allocation and the challenges officials face after bifurcation, as many of these officers had expressed a strong preference to stay in Telangana.
The Khandekar Committee noted that the officer had challenged the approved guidelines for the allocation of IAS officers after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
In a detailed report, the committee said that Amrapali Kata had cited her “permanent address” as Visakhapatnam for correspondence purposes in her UPSC form and had requested to be treated as an insider of Telangana. However, the Pratyush Sinha Committee which was responsible for the initial allocation had ruled out her request based on approved guidelines.
The Ministry accepted the Khandekar Committee’s recommendation to reject her claim emphasising that the allocation of officers from the undivided cadre of Andhra Pradesh was done uniformly and in accordance with facts.