Staff relocation in temporary capital an uphill task for AP

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, June 26

More than two years after bifurcation, the truncated Andhra Pradesh is grappling with an uphill task of relocating its employees from Hyderabad to the temporary capital in Vijayawada.

While the Chandrababu Naidu government has set June 27 as the deadline for nearly 15,000 employees to shift to the interim headquarters, a major chunk of the staff is reluctant to move at this stage, citing inadequate infrastructure in Vijayawada, a congested coastal town of 10 lakh population and other logistical problems.

A temporary Secretariat complex is coming up at Velagapudi village, around 15 km from Vijayawada. This would serve as the seat of administration till a permanent state capital is built at Amaravathi, a task that might take over a decade to complete.

Though the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 provides for Hyderabad serving as the common capital for Telangana and AP for 10 years, the TDP government is keen that its staff moves out of Hyderabad as soon as possible to ensure that it is closer to the people. The employees are reluctant to move. “My spouse is working in Hyderabad and I have school-going children. Displacement at this stage is going to put my finances under severe strain,” said Purnachandra Rao, an official of the State Information Department, echoing the predicament of thousands of employees.

Adding to their woes, the rents and property values in Vijayawada and Guntur have soared abnormally in anticipation of the influx. “All we want is provision of basic amenities. We have appealed to the Chief Minister to relax the deadline and give more time. Paying three months’ rent in advance, finding facilities, including school or college for their wards, is definitely hurting the employees,” said P Ashok Babu, president of the AP Non-Gazetted Officers’ Association.

In order to soften the impact of displacement, the government has announced a slew of incentives to its staff working from the temporary capital, including five-day work schedule, flexible work hours, 30% hike in house rent allowance and leave to visit families in Hyderabad over weekends.

The government faces a massive task of relocating offices of 115 directorates and commissionerates, apart from the 32 departments in the Secretariat with over 15,000 employees. A committee, comprising Special Chief Secretaries B Sam Bob and Ajeya Kallam and Principal Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, estimated that the government would require at least five million square ft of space for relocating the government establishments.