Revanth demands withdrawal of GO 317, writes open letter to CM

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & MP A. Revanth Reddy demanded the immediate repeal of GO 317 which was issued for allotment of staff to new local cadres.

In an open letter to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday, Revanth Reddy demanded that the impasse over postings of employees and teachers caused due to GO 317 must be put to an end by modifying the guidelines. He said that GO 317, in its present form, was doing more harm than good for the employees and teachers. He said that fresh guidelines must be issued after holding discussions with the representatives of teachers and employees unions.

Revanth Reddy said that the Telangana statehood movement was based on the slogan of 'Neelu, Nidhulu, Niyamakulu' (water, funds and jobs). The employees and teachers have played an active role in the Telangana movement with the hope that the separate State would put an end to all injustices they met with, especially with regard to appointments on the basis of their native district. They participated in the agitation without fearing any consequences. However, the present allotment and transfers being made by the State Government have caused mental agony to the employees and teachers as they are being subjected to huge injustice, he said.

The TPCC President said that the allocations and transfers were being done in such a non-scientific manner that even the employees and teachers were being rendered as non-locals in their native districts. He said that the State Government has issued GO MS No. 317 on December 6, 2021, for the allotment of staff to new local cadres in nearly 63 departments of the government as per the new Zonal Policy. Of nearly 4.5 lakh employees, the State Government undertook the allotment and transfers of nearly 2.5 lakh employees.

Revanth Reddy said that the allotment as per the new Zonal Policy in Telangana has become a blessing for some and a curse for others. He said that the new districts were not being taken into account as a unit for allotment and transfer. While seniors are being given an option in postings, juniors are being transferred to remote areas. Despite living in the district for over 20-30 years, they are being treated as non-locals. Further, the state government is not giving an assurance to reinstate employees who have been transferred to non-local districts in those positions if the seniors retire.

He said that the teachers were worse affected due to the recent policy. He said that the category of teachers was different compared to other employees. They fall in the District Cadre. Therefore, they live near the area of their work and set up permanent residence. But the new system will displace them on a permanent basis. Further, he said junior teachers were being transferred to remote areas instead of engaging the services of Vidya Volunteers. It is also suspected that the government will shut down schools on the pretext of rationalization in view of vacant posts, he said.

The TPCC President said that usually at the time of counseling, the district is treated as a unit by showing all the vacancies in different categories and the options are taken. However, the State Government is not disclosing the details of how many people have left the district. For instance, if there are 41 vacancies for School Assistant (Telugu) posts in a district and 18 transfers, then the authorities are showing the details of only 18 vacant posts during counseling. Only those 18 vacancies are being filled in the ratio of 1:1.

Revanth Reddy said that the State Government did not rectify the mistakes in the seniority list pointed out by the teachers. He said vacant posts in schools that are far away from the District Headquarters were being shown. Further, the regular counseling procedure was abolished so as to deprive the teachers of a fair opportunity to select an option. He alleged that the GO 317 was issued to adjust employees and teachers on a permanent basis based on seniority.

While senior employees were given allotments in the urban areas, junior employees were being forcibly sent to rural areas. There will be no chance of fresh vacancies for another 30 years in the districts where junior employees are allotted. The district cadre is estimated to have over 60,000 employees over the age of 50 across the state. Consequently, there will be a risk of loss of nearly 60,000 jobs.

Revanth Reddy urged the Chief Minister to repeal the GO MS 317 and issue fresh guidelines after holding discussions with the employees and teachers' unions. Further, he said that the allotment and transfer of employees in the Agency areas were done as per the GO MS No. 3. Therefore, present transfers should also be done on the basis of GO MS No. 3. He said that the place of residence should be made the basis for the allocation of employees.

He demanded that the employees transferred to other districts should be given the opportunity to return to the original district whenever vacancies arise. Supernumerary posts for juniors must be created if needed. The regular process of counselling must be restored for teachers and all vacancies in each district should be shown at the time of transfer.