AP employees reject deadline for Amaravati move

For the 40,000 employees of Andhra Pradesh, the government’s decision to shift them from here to Amaravati by June 2 next year has come as a rude shock.

The employees have to pack their bags by June, while anyone wanting to be citizens of Andhra Pradesh must shift from Telangana by June 2, 2017.

In fact, the AP Cabinet’s decision to grant domicile to children of state employees and others born in the ten districts of Telangana –including the capital region- has rattled the employees dreading the prospect of moving into a region where real-estate rates are jumping through the roof.

“The state government has urged the Centre to issue a Presidential order on nativity status as the zonal system is under a presidential order,” said state IT minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy, who asked state workers to give up their resistance to move out of Hyderabad.

“Many feel shifting in June would hit children’s education and academic year,” said President of AP Secretariat U Murali Krishna. In a resolution Employees told state Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao that they cannot move to the new capital within the deadline without proper amenities in place.

The General Administration Department’s roadmap suggests government departments will be shifted in three phases in November, February and June on the basis of their priority and importance.

“What about accommodation, transportation and office space?” Murali Krishna asked. “In the absence of a centralised capital, offices will have to be scattered across Guntur and Krishna districts, making life difficult for the employees and general public.”

Opposition parties accused Naidu of shifting the administration in haste for personal gains, though the state reorganisation Act allows them to stay in Hyderabad for ten years.