410 Employees Dismissed by AP State FiberNet Ltd

Vijayawada: As many as 410 employees of AP State FiberNet Ltd have been dismissed following alleged violations in the recruitment regulations there.

Its chairman GV Reddy said these persons had been hired without proper authorization or investigation, and often based solely on WhatsApp messages during the term of the YSRC government. The previous MD of this entity acted recklessly, he alleged.

These appointments, he claimed, exceeded the actual requirements of the company. “Many of these appointments were purportedly influenced by political recommendations. The employees often engaged in doing personal services for legislators and parliament members while still on the Fiber Net payrolls.”

“It is unacceptable that several of them were allegedly engaged in actions like cooking at the residences of legislators or driving for parliament members around, while drawing salaries from Fiber Net,” Reddy said. “Many employees were integrated into the payroll without any appointment letters.”

Reddy lamented that over the past five years, the efficiency of Fiber Net services had drastically diminished, with new connections dropping from a potential of 10 lakh to just 5 lakh.

He added, “The identification of these 410 individuals, deemed unnecessary, is just the beginning. If more numbers of unqualified personnel are found, they too will be removed. Around 70-75 per cent of the workforce was hired unnecessarily, which caused the organization significant financial distress.”

He claimed that this mismanagement has put the company in a fix. “It is now required to pay Rs.4 crore per month as salaries, pushing the entity towards bankruptcy.”

Reddy said the previous government had left behind debts amounting to Rs.2100 crore.

“We would pursue legal action against those responsible for these illegitimate recruitments. We will send legal notices to those who authorized such appointments and recover dues, if necessary," he stated.