Its Turn of IAS officers, Govt posed query on Andhra/Telangana to Officers

Hyderabad: A question in an application form circulated by the state government to IAS officers of the rank of principal secretaries last week has left many of them baffling and wondering about the shape of things to come. The question was ‘Whether he/she is native of Andhra/ Telangana’. Such a query coming at a time when an agitation for a separate state is raging is causing consternation about the intention behind such a move.

The application is part of a memo (667/Spl.A/A12011-1) issued by Ajay Mishra, principal secretary, general administration department (GAD), dated September 30, which reached most of the officers last week. The memo stated that 45 new flats have been constructed at Kundanbagh and that the government proposed to allot them to officers of the rank of principal secretaries. The memo directed those officers who were interested in occupying the flats to fill up the attached application form and forward the same to the GAD.

The application for allotment of government residential accommodation contained 20 questions that the concerned officer had to answer and the one seeking to know whether the babu hailed from Telangana or Andhra was query No 11. “While all the other information sought was understandable, as they pertained to name, date of birth, designation, date of joining service and date of superannuation etc, the question as to whether the officer was native of Andhra or Telangana was unprecedented,” said a shocked officer who received the memo and the attached application.

Upset over the intention of the state to seek such information, several officers said that they belonged to an All-India Service and that the AP cadre contained several officers who were non-Telugus and come from many other states of the country. “What is supposed to be the response of non-Telugu officers to such a query,” wondered one officer.
 

Some Telugu officers questioned as to why Rayalaseema was not mentioned as an option as it was one of the three regions of the state. “Andhra or Telangana, for that matter Rayalaseema, are not recognized geographical entities. The state government is not supposed to seek information if the applicant is native of Andhra or Telangana while allotting houses,” shocked officials said.

Source: Times Of  India