Date:24/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/24/stories/2007052404180600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

A.P. House panel members grill officials on GO

Special Correspondent

Legislators express displeasure over contradictory information

HYDERABAD: Officials drew flak at a meeting of the Andhra Pradesh House Committee on implementation and monitoring of GO 610 as legislators grilled them and expressed strong displeasure over the contradictory information provided to them.

Cutting across party lines, members at the three-hour meeting held under the chairmanship of N. Uttam Kumar Reddy (Congress) on Wednesday expressed reservations on whether the GO would be implemented in all departments by the June-end deadline. Chief Secretary J. Harinarayan and Principal Secretary, School Education, C. B. S. Venkata Ramana, were among the senior officials present.

Mr. Reddy directed the Education Department to make GO 610 also applicable to all aided educational institutions and the Housing Corporation. He told reporters later that the notification on transfers in the District Institutes of Educational Training (DIETs) and that of deputy educational officers under Zone 7 would be withdrawn.

The meeting directed the Government to keep in abeyance the orders appointing 17 Assistant Public Prosecutors Grade - II. This followed strong protests by the members who said that these orders were in clear violation of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy's assurance to the Assembly to cancel the recruitment as no candidate from Telangana was selected.

Sources said TRS MLA T. Harish Rao objected to the information furnished by Mr. Venkata Ramana that GO 610 was not applicable to aided schools whereas the Chief Secretary said all departments were ordered to implement the GO. TDLP deputy leader T. Devender Goud, G. Kishan Reddy (BJP) and P. Janardhan Reddy (Congress) demanded action to be taken against officials, who demonstrated laxity in providing information about implementation of GO 610.