HYDERABAD: The Women and Child Welfare Department in Telangana is facing administrative challenges, with several key posts lying vacant, officials from other departments holding additional charge and delays in promotions affecting its functioning across districts.
According to sources, a district-wise list of District Welfare Officers (DWOs) across all 33 districts highlights the vacancies and the department’s dependence on officials from other departments to manage welfare administration.
Fourteen districts are being managed by DWOs holding full additional charge (FAC), while Assistant Directors or Deputy Directors from the Women Development and Child Welfare Department are handling responsibilities in eight districts.
Officials from the Disabled Welfare Department are holding charge in three districts, while officials from other departments are managing the work in six districts. Two districts have vacant DWO posts, according to the sources.
In Hyderabad, the DWO level post was recently assigned to an official from the Juvenile Welfare Department. In Peddapalli, the district collector is handling the DWO’s responsibilities, while officials from other departments are managing the work in Jagtial, Suryapet and Narayanpet. In Mancherial, an official from the Disabled Welfare Department has been handling the DWO’s responsibilities, while in Rajanna Sircilla, an official from the Juvenile Welfare Department has been discharging the role for more than five years.
The absence of regular appointments to senior positions has affected administrative efficiency. The lack of a regular secretary and regular directors for Disabled Welfare and Juvenile Welfare has added to the challenges.
Delays in file clearance, inadequate support staff and insufficient budget releases have further complicated the department’s functioning, sources added.
The department is also facing concerns over limited promotional opportunities for its own cadre. Child Development Project Officers, who form part of the feeder cadre for higher positions, are allegedly not being given adequate priority for promotions.
Several senior officers are allegedly working in posts outside their regular administrative line, including positions in other government institutions, even as vacancies persist at the district level.
An officer, who did not wish to be named, also raised concerns over officials being assigned responsibilities outside their allotted districts.
Key challenges
Several DWO posts across Telangana’s 33 districts are being managed by officials holding additional charge or by personnel from other departments.
The absence of regular appointments to key positions, including he secretary and directors of Disabled Welfare and Juvenile Welfare, is affecting administrative functioning.
CDPOs, who form part of the feeder cadre for higher positions, are not being given adequate priority in promotions.
Inadequate support staff, salary delays and insufficient budget releases are affecting the department’s functioning.
The department oversees women’s safety, child protection, nutrition programmes and residential care services, making effective district-level administration essential.
