No ‘GO’ Zone: With New Telangana Govt in Place, Clamour for Scrapping of Controversial Orders Gets Louder

The Praja Vani programme started by the new Congress government in Telangana is providing an outlet to the public to bring up their grievances.

The complaints range from land disputes to discrepancies in distribution of 2-BHK houses. Another recurring compliant is regarding a number of controversial government orders (GOs) passed during the BRS government. With a new government and new cabinet in place, the protesters are hopeful that their pleas will be heard.

Here are three of the GOs that have attracted criticism in the last one year.

1. GO 46: Youth aspiring for police jobs have been up against this order that says that positions under the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board (TSLPRB) will be filled up in various districts according to certain ratios provided by the government. The protesters have argued that the ratio break-up favours aspirants living in Hyderabad and nearby districts as they have been allocated a higher number of jobs. This leaves aspirants from other districts in the lurch, say protesters.There are two other GOs that TSLPRB aspirants have been objecting to — GOs 57 and 58. There is a two-pronged objection to these. Firstly, aspirants say that these were introduced by the previous government this April after the preliminary examination had already taken place. Introduction of new rules implies that students who qualified in the prelims according to the old set of rules might not make it to the new list. Secondly, in the GOs, the government reduced the cut-off marks for SC, ST and BC categories, but did not mention anything about EWS quota.Interestingly, as the TPCC president, Revanth Reddy had urged the government last month to reduce the cut-off marks for candidates under EWS category.
2. GO 317: Government teachers have been demanding that GO 317, which established a zonal system for job allocation, be scrapped. The GO said that district collectors and the heads of the department concerned in various districts will be part of the allotment committee. Teachers have argued that the order does not take their nativity into account. It has also resulted in teacher couples getting allotted different districts. There is also a concern that the GO will dilute the protection given to Adivasi teachers in agency areas as employees from any corner of the state can now be transferred there. Last December, Revanth Reddy had asked former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to repeal the GO.
3. GO 111: Repeal of GO111 was one of the most controversial moves by the BRS government. The GO prevented extreme industrialisation at 83 villages. It also protected catchment areas of lakes and prevented pollution of the city’s two main reservoirs (Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar). By revoking it, the government opened up 1.32 lakh acres for real estate. The move attracted criticism from people from various quarters, ranging from environmentalists to opposition.

There is speculation that the new chief minister, Revanth Reddy, is seriously considering putting a hold on GO 111 repeal. However, no announcement has been made yet.