Allotment of health offices sparks row

Hyderabad: Allocation of a private building in Banjara Hills to the Telangana health medical and family welfare department, after shifting it out of the current DMHS campus, has raked up a controversy. This is because the Andhra counterpart has been allowed to continue from the existing campus.

Health department officials said their proposals did not reach the General Administration Department, which allocated office spaces. They said revised orders would be issued soon.

The departments under the ministry of health— such as the Directorate of Medical Education, Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare, APSacs, APMSIDC and Vaidya Vidhan Parishad — work from the DMHS campus in Koti. But with the division of government departments following the bifurcation of the state, the Telangana units of these departments have been allocated office space in a rented private building, Srinilaya Cyber Spazio, located on Road No. 2 in Banjara Hills.

Surprisingly, the Andhra units have been allowed to function from the existing DMHS campus. Telangana employees are seeing red in the allocation of office spaces.

Dr Jupalli Rajender, chairman, DMHS JAC, said, “It is most unfortunate that such a decision has been taken. Why should we move out of our rightful place and work at a private complex in Banjara Hills that is so far away? We were planning to celebrate the birth of Telangana, but this allocation of office has caused a lot of anguish.”

Dr B. Ramesh, president, Telangana Doctors’ Association, said they will organise a protest on campus against the allocation. However, Y.V. Anuradha, commissioner, health and family welfare, said the allocation will be changed.

“There was probably a communication gap with the GAD. Telangana employees will not be shifted out of the current campus. Another order will be issued by the GAD and the campus will be shared by departments of both states,” she said.

The campus has been a matter of controversy as employees had earlier resisted attempts by the Hyderabad Metro Rail to acquire the land.

“This is a conspiracy to acquire the land. They want to shift Telangana employees out of the campus. Andhra departments will relocate out of Telangana in some time. Then nobody would be present on the campus to stop them from acquiring the land,” a Telangana health department employee said.