Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday made it clear to the heads of departments that there would be no extension of the deadline for shifting of government employees to Vijayawada beyond June 1, 2016.
During his meeting with the HoDs at the state secretariat here, a senior official brought to his notice the apprehensions raised by employees in shifting to Vijayawada.
In response, Naidu said that under no circumstance employees should be allowed to work from Hyderabad after June 1. He also pointed out that the state secretariat should start functioning from Vijayawada from that date and all meetings would be held in Vijayawada. He ruled out any relaxation to employees on this count.
Naidu has asked the department heads to prepare a plan of action on transfer of employees in a phased manner without waiting till June next. He suggested that the employees who do not have school or college-going children or suffer from health issues, can be shifted from December itself. Naidu directed all departments to take a decision on providing temporary accommodation to employees settling down in Vijayawada and also ensure the safety and security of women employees.
He inquired about the vacancy position in several government buildings in and around Vijayawada where the staff could be provided temporary accommodation.
In view of limited space in Vijayawada, Naidu also suggested sharing one big facility by several departments till the construction of their own buildings is completed. De-notification of Medha Towers in Gannavaram was also discussed and chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao informed that a formal letter was already sent to the Centre to this effect.
Since Gannavaram is about 20 km away from the core city of Vijayawada, the issue of transportation facilities for employees was also discussed at the meeting.
Health and education departments will be located on Nagarjuna University campus, while agriculture and allied departments will be shifted to Guntur.
Naidu made it clear that he had given plenty of time to employees as also benefits. “We need to give confidence to people in AP by working from their geographical area. This will not only boost the confidence of people but also improve trade and growth,” the chief minister said.