Staff crunch in new dists stymies schemes

​Hyderabad: Two years on, yet the State government is oblivious to the requirement of staff in all departments in each district carved out of erstwhile 10 districts.

Even as 21 new districts carved out of 10 old districts two years ago, Telangana State Government is yet to finalise permanent cadre strength in any department. Officials attribute the problem to the delay in creation of new zones.

Creation of new districts caused a huge shortage of manpower to execute government schemes in a time-bound manner. It also hindered the process of creation of new posts and fill the vacancies in a scheduled time in the districts. 

Soon after the creation of new districts in October 2016, the State government has transferred officials on deputation by creating temporary cadre. The officials were posted in a hurry and were given more responsibilities without providing supporting staff in all 21 new districts.

Ever since the officials were posted on deputation in new districts in 2016, the government neither finalised cadre strength nor appointed required staff in every wing particularly in the key departments - Education, Medical and Health, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Municipal Administration and Urban Development and Planning departments. These departments are the worst affected with understaff in the new districts.

Unless the government finalises the cadre strength, the allotment of required number of officials is not possible. Almost all the staff are working on deputation. Telangana Employees Union president A Padma Chary said that without the cadre strength, smooth administration in the districts is not possible. "The officials working on deputation in the new district were not only burdened with work load, but also deprived of promotions, he said.

The officials attribute the delay in the creation of new Zones for not finalisation of cadre strength. The government proposes to create six new Zones in the place of existing two zones. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also finalised draft Presidential Order seeking President's consent based on the recommendation made by state Cabinet Sub Committee. "The government is not moving forward on this issue for the last six months," an official said.

The delay in seeking Presidential assent for the new zones has already obstructed the process to fill teacher posts through direct recruitment. District cadre posts and zonal posts will be filled only when the cadre strength and new zones are officially approved, the employee union leaders said.