Four IAS officers from the Telangana cadre approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday, seeking the annulment of Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) orders. They submitted requests for directives to remain in Telangana. The petitioners include Amrapali, Vakati Karuna, Vani Prasad, and Srujana. Reports indicate that the CAT is scheduled to hear the case on Tuesday. In this context, officers hesitant to leave Telangana held an urgent meeting with Chief Secretary Shanti Kumar. Vakati Karuna, Ronald Ross, and Amrapali have requested not to be transferred to Andhra Pradesh.
Adjustments in State Division
As part of the state bifurcation, the central government allocated IAS and IPS officers to both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. This allocation has led to strong objections from some officers regarding their assignment to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. They have sought recognition as part of the Telangana cadre by appealing to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). Consequently, CAT has taken their requests into consideration, but the DOPT’s decisions regarding the Telangana High Court have been challenged. A hearing on the petition was held in March 2023, and the central government established a one-member commission headed by Deepak Khandekar on March 21, 2024, to review the officers’ requests.
DOPT Orders for Transfer to AP Cadre
As part of this process, the commission evaluated the requests of IAS and IPS officers but rejected their appeals. The DOPT issued orders for all-India service officers allocated to the Andhra Pradesh cadre to report there by October 16. In response, all the officers challenged the DOPT directives before the CAT.
Central Government Rejects Request of 11 Officers
The central government has turned down the requests of 11 IAS officers seeking to remain in the Telangana cadre. Among these officers are GHMC Commissioner Amrapali and Electricity Department Secretary Ronald Ross. All of them had previously applied to the DOPT for recognition in the Telangana cadre. Amrapali provided Visakhapatnam as her permanent address in her UPSC application, resulting in her allocation to the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Although she requested to be recognized as a local from Telangana, her appeal was previously denied by the Pratyush Sinha committee. Considering all these factors, the central government has recently issued orders for their transfer to Andhra Pradesh. The decision that Amrapali and the Telangana government will take in this situation has become a topic of interest.
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Central Government Orders IAS Officer Amrapali and 11 Others to Report to Andhra Pradesh