Twin Panels Formed to Allocate Officials for Andhra, Telangana

Following Parliament’s nod for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the UPA Government is now moving swiftly to complete the process of allocating the civil services and state government officials for both the states.

Following Parliament’s nod for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the UPA Government is now moving swiftly to complete the process of allocating the civil services and state government officials for both the states.

Disclosing this, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said two committees had been set up in the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) to look into the allocation of the officials.

“One committee will allocate officers of the all-India services and one committee will do the allocation of state-level employees--to start the process of allocation of personnel,” Jairam said.

As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, on the ‘appointed day’ there would be two separate cadres-- one for the state of Andhra Pradesh and one for Telangana in respect of the IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service(IFoS).

For the other services, post the ‘appointed day’, the Centre shall look into the issue, after seeking options from the employees.  As per an estimate, there are roughly 84,000 state government employees in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

According to Jairam,the ‘appointed day’ would be decided in such a manner that majority of the groundwork related to the division of cadres, allocation of assets and other liabilities was completed.

He said the AP Re-organisation Bill 2014, which had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, would now be sent to the President for his assent following which it would be notified.

“In the case of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand,it took three months from the date of notification for the new states to formally coming into being. That is called the ‘appointed day’,” Jairam said, adding that no decision had been taken regarding the ‘appointed day’.

Until a Public Service Commission is constituted by Telangana, the UPSC with the approval of the President would serve the needs of the state. The existing commission, though, will remain with Andhra Pradesh.

The minister also tried to assuage the feelings of the Seemandhra people saying the Centre had adopted a middle path while carving out Telangana. And he maintained the Bill had ensured that Seemandhra’s interests were fully protected.

Jairam also trashed the allegations levelled by some Congress Ministers from Seemandhra that the decision was taken in haste.

“It is not a decision taken with an eye on the 2014 elections. It is a long-standing, long- drawn process. It took time and necessary consultations had been held with all sections,” he said.

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