Hyderabad: Four years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and formation of Telangana, scores of employees of both states continue to frequent the courts seeking service rights of allocation to the chosen state, pension and other grievances.
As per the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the division of employees was to be completed within two years from the appointed day, but several institutions are yet to complete the bifurcation, which is listed in the common list under the Reorganisation Act.
Employees are now worried that their situation could end up like that of employees in Bihar and Jharkhand, where they continue to struggle for their service rights since the state was bifurcated in 2000. Employees of Bihar Hill Area Lift Irrigation Corporation (BHALCO), which later became the Jharkhand Hill Area Lift Irrigation Corporation (JHALCO), fought almost 13 years for their payment dues and when their case went to the Supreme Court in 2013 the governments of Bihar and Jharkhand were ordered to pay the dues.
While disposing of the case the Top Court observed, “We call it sad as we are disposed to think that when a state is bifurcated by a Parliamentary Legislation, both the states and the Centre are required to take certain decisions under the Act and they are required to be taken in quite promptitude and not leaving the poor employees high and dry and suffer for no fault of theirs.”
Dr K. Lakshmi Narasimha, the High Court advocate dealing with cases relating to the division of employees before the Hyderabad High Court, said the law mandates AP and Telangana governments to settle the issue of division of employees with mutual consultation, but they have not even bothered to do so, which has resulted in scores of employees approaching High Court.
Maintaining that he was representing more than 2,000 employees before the High Court, the counsel said that more than 1,200 employees working in TS Transco, TS Genco and TSNPDCL have fought for almost two years against their allocation to AP, which the High Court eventually declared unconstitutional.
Mr P.V. Krishnaiah, advocate appearing for the seniority dispute among Deputy Superintendents Police of both states said that though the High Court, in September 2017, directed both state governments to revise seniority from the year 1978 onwards to resolve grievances of hundreds of DSPs working in both states within 6 months, the revision has yet to be completed. He said that a contempt case is being filed against the officers concerned of both states for not implementing the court order.
