Officials want Naidu to go slow
HYDERABAD: Even though Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has identified heads of some departments to be shifted to the geographical jurisdiction of the reorganised state right now, several of the officials belonging to these departments are understood to have expressed reservations over the same.
Citing non-availability of sufficient office space in Vijayawada and high rents in the city when compared to that of Hyderabad, some of the officials are learnt to have asked the three-member official panel, appointed to identify departments to be shifted to Vijayawada on priority basis, to incorporate their objections to Naidu's proposal to immediately shift some offices to the new capital in the panel's report.
At the second-round meeting of the panel held here on Monday, several officials requested the panel to urge Naidu not to hurry with relocating the offices of HODs to Vijayawada.
The committee, consisting of finance principal secretary Ajeya Kallam, transport, roads and buildings principal secretary B Sam Bob and municipal administration principal secretary D Sambasiva Rao, had a detailed discussion with the HoDs and gathered their views on relocating various departments to the new capital of AP forthwith.
Principal secretaries and secretaries of various departments also took part in the meeting. According to sources, the panel asked all the HoDs to submit a report to it on five key points such as total number of employees working in various departments and the quantum of office space required in Vijayawada, accommodation needed for officials and employees in Vijayawada and the time-frame for shifting, by October 6.
'As each department has different wings. The HoDs have been asked to identify the wings that are to be relocated to Vijayawada in the first phase,' said source.
The HoDs told the panel that the main problem they were facing was about shifting of employees as most of them were not in favour of relocating their families to Vijayawada immediately.
'A majority of the employees are of the view that if they have to relocate their families to Vijayawada they will have to pay higher rents there. Moreover, many of them live in their own houses in Hyderabad,' an official told. A majority of officials felt that it would not be easy to relocate over 4,000 employees in the first phase.
News Posted: 30 September, 2014
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