Power staff division between AP, TS completed

Vijayawada: The long pending issue of division of power sector employees between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has come to an end with the One-Man Committee passing conclusive report on June 20 approving the list of 584 employees as given by the AP sub-committee member and allocating them to Telangana.

The division of employees, which had been pending since 2015, was ended without any additional financial burden to any of the commercial entities on both the sides.

The Dharmadhikari Committee also made it clear that in both lists in which 655 employees had been allocated to AP from TS, now 584 were allocated to TS from AP, the employees who have retired before 2020 or to be retired in balance part of 2020 and to be retained wherever they are working in the concerned power utilities and should not form part of said 655 list or 584 list.

In fact, the One-Man Committee passed orders by giving supplementary report on March 11, 2020 stating that 655 employees working on order to serve basis in AP power utilities need to be allocated to Telangana power utilities while confirming the allocation of 655 employees from Telangana to AP power utilities.

After submitting the same, the AP Power utilities relieved the said 584 employees on March 14, 2020. But, Telangana utilities had again objected and did not allow them to join.

Therefore, AP power utilities did not allow 655 allocated to them and salaries to said relieved employees by power utilities of both States were not paid.

Subsequently, owing to coronavirus pandemic, the One-Man Committee himself has filed miscellaneous application before Supreme Court in May 2020 stating that the suggestion to pay salaries to said relieved employees was not complied by power utilities of both States.

The Supreme Court on May 1, 2020 passed orders that power utilities of both States are directed to pay salaries during the lockdown, pending resolution of objections filed by Telangana utilities with One-Man Committee.

After many years of deliberation, the dispute ended amicably, said a senior official of Energy department in a press release on Saturday.