GO 317-Affected Staff Likely to Get Relief

Hyderabad: Hundreds of state government employees and teachers, who were impacted by controversial transfers under Government Order (GO) 317, issued by the previous BRS government, are likely to get relief soon. The Cabinet sub-committee formed by the current Congress government to review GO 317 submitted its report to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday.

The report, delivered in a sealed cover by ministers Damodar Rajanarasimha and D. Sridhar Babu at the Chief Minister's residence, is expected to address the issues faced by employees transferred to distant locations under the order. The government is considering conducting fresh transfers to alleviate these concerns.

Official sources confirmed that the report will be presented at a Cabinet meeting scheduled for October 26, where further decisions on the matter are expected.

The controversial GO 317, introduced in December 2021 by the BRS government, created a zonal system for job allocation, coinciding with Telangana’s reorganisation into 33 districts from the original 10. The new system aimed to ensure government jobs for local residents within their respective districts, zones, and multizones.

The GO empowered district collectors and department heads to form allotment committees for district cadre posts, while decisions on zonal and multizonal posts were left to higher-level officials, including the principal secretary and special chief secretary.

One of the key issues with GO 317 was the transfer of spouses working in different cadres, but the order included provisions for such employees to apply for cadre changes, subject to administrative needs and vacancy availability. The aim was to accommodate spouses within the same local cadre wherever feasible.

The order also faced protests from Adivasi groups, who expressed concerns that it could undermine protections granted to Adivasi populations in agency areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. These areas have special protections, including requiring the President's assent for major decisions affecting the regions.

Over the past three months, the sub-committee has gathered grievances from various employee and teacher unions, as well as individual employees, both through direct meetings and via email. These inputs have been incorporated in the report that now awaits Cabinet review.