Telangana Govt to Lift Ban on General Transfers of Employees by Month-End

Hyderabad: The state government is most likely to lift the ban on general transfer of employees by the month-end and undertake transfers in all departments next month. Lifting the ban on general transfers that was imposed by the BRS government has been a long-pending demand of the employees’ unions.

Members from various employees associations such as TGOs, TNGOs and the Telangana Secretariat Employees Association (TSEA) met Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari and submitted a representation seeking lifting of the ban. Kumari conveyed the unions' requests to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who is learnt to have responded positively and had asked her to initiate steps for undertaking transfers at the earliest. If the ban is lifted, it will benefit around three lakh employees posted in various departments.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Tahsildars Association met in the city on Monday and made a similar demand.

In undivided Andhra Pradesh, the governments used to undertake general transfers every year or once in two years, especially during summer holidays for educational institutions. This was to ensure that children’s education would not be affected by transfers.

After the formation of Telangana state in 2014, the BRS government imposed a ban on general transfers for several years. In its 10-year rule, the previous Chandrashekar Rao undertook the exercise only once in 2018, and that too a few months prior to the Assembly polls.

After the Congress came to power in December 2023, Revanth Reddy laid focus on general transfers. He held a meeting with representatives of all employees and teachers unions on March 10 to discuss the issue. De to enforcement of the election code from March 16 on account of the Lok Sabha elections, the process was halted. Once, the Election Commission lifted the code on June 6, the issue of general transfers was back in the limelight with employees’ unions stepping up pressure on the state government by holding meetings and making a strong demand in this regard.

Speaking to this newspaper, TGOs president Eluri Sreenivasa Rao said that employees and teachers were facing severe hardships for the past ten years due to the ban. Even the general transfers undertaken by the BRS government in 2018 was 'incomplete' as a majority of the employees could not utilise the facility due to various restrictions imposed by them.

"General transfers will ensure that no employee works at the same place beyond five years. Newly-recruited employees, who complete two years of service, and senior employees, who complete five years at the same place, await general transfers to get postings in locations of their choice on a seniority basis," he said.

The BRS government had also imposed a ban on 'spouse transfers,' which affected nearly 83,000 couples posted in different districts. They said their children and dependent parents were facing several problems due to this.

A week back, the state government issued a schedule for transfers and promotions for teachers from June 8 to 24. Nearly 18,500 teachers are expected to get promotions.