Centre is yet to clear IPS officer Stephen Ravindra’s Andhra Pradesh shift

Hyderabad: The intercadre deputation of senior IAS officer Y. Srilakshmi and IPS officer Stephen Ravindra from Telangana state to Andhra Pradesh appears to be taking its own sweet time what with the department of personnel and training (DoPT) sitting over the requests for close to a month now.

This is slowly becoming a matter of concern for the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government.

The request of another Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officer, Mr A. Dharma Reddy, who was working in the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), New Delhi, and has sought a transfer to Andhra Pradesh, has also been kept on hold.

Government sources in New Delhi said that all three requests are still under consideration and so far no concrete decision has been taken in this regard. “There are service rules which have to be taken into consideration and the DoPT officials are worried that if they give the green signal to all three, it will set a precedent which will come in handy for other bureaucrats across the country, many of whom would like to go on a inter-cadre deputation,” the sources said.

AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had zeroed in on Mr Ravindra, a 1999 batch IPS officer, for the post of intelligence chief just days after the YSR Congress scripted a massive victory in the AP Assembly elections.

Mr Ravindra, who is from the Telangana cadre, had swiftly applied for leave and left for Vijayawada.

“He had applied for leave for 15 days, and then extended it by another 30 days. The 45 days will come to an end by July 9,” sources said, adding that all bureaucrats in Telangana staet and AP are following the developments closely.

In the case of Ms Srilakshmi, a 1988 batch IAS officer, presently posted as principal secretary, department of public enterprises in Telangana state, she had already met Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and he had responded positively to her proposal of inter cadre deputation to Andhra Pradesh.

“She was in Delhi recently and met a few officials in DoPT to push her case. But we cannot say by when her file will be cleared or whether it will be along with Stephen Ravindra’s file,” sources said.

The senior IAS officer is expecting a crucial posting in Jagan Mohan Reddy's administration. Srilakshmi, wife of Telangana cadre IPS officer M. Gopi Krishna, was jailed in the illegal mining case involving the Obulapuram Mining Company (OBC).

It is believed that Mr Ravindra’s name could be cleared this month, when the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), which has Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairman, convenes its next meeting. The ACC, which met a few days ago, was expected to clear at least Mr Ravindra’s file, but it only cleared the appointments of Director, Intelligence Bureau, Arvinda Kumar, and R&AW secretary Samant Kumar Goel.

Mr Reddy is said to have taken up the matter of Mr Ravindra with Union home minister Amit Shah when he called on him in New Delhi some time ago. “Amit Shah had responded positively,” the sources said.

As per service rules, inter-cadre transfer is permitted for All-India Service officers on marriage to another member of the All-India Service where the officer or officers concerned have sought a change or encountered extreme hardship in the rarest of cases.

Inter cadre transfer is not permitted to the home state of an officer. The service rules also state that “extreme hardship” includes threat to the life of the officer or his/her immediate family and severe health problems to the officer or his immediate family due to the climate or environment of the state to which he is allotted.

“Requests not covered under these guidelines are liable to be rejected. But in the case of Andhra Pradesh, exceptions could be made due to the friendly relations between the Centre and AP and more so because Chief Ministers of Telangana and AP have given their NOC. But nothing concrete can be said at the moment,” sources added.