GO 317 Victim Employees' Protest At Secretariat

The Telangana GO 317 Victim Employees and Teachers' Joint Action Committee (JAC) today attempted to hold a protest at the State Secretariat.

They demanded that the State government allocate the affected employees to their native places based on their local status.

The JAC leaders demanded that the employees and teachers be immediately assigned to their local districts and zones as promised by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and the Congress before the Assembly elections.

The employees and teachers, who tried to reach the Secretariat in large numbers along with their family members, were stopped and arrested by the police at various locations including the Secretariat gate. Police were heavily deployed in the vicinity of the Secretariat.

The JAC leaders condemned the police obstruction and the arrests. They said that Revanth Reddy had promised them justice when he was the TPCC president, but justice was served to only a few. They said that their struggle would continue until justice was done for all GO 317 victim employees and teachers.

For context, in Telangana, GO 317 refers to a government order issued in December 2021 that introduced a zonal system for job allocation and transfers. This order was enacted following the reorganization of districts in Telangana, with the number of districts increasing from 10 to 33. The main purpose of the GO was to establish a system based on the local status of employees in the new districts.

The order has faced significant opposition, particularly from employees including teachers who argue that it has caused injustice in transfers and new employment. They claim that junior employees are being favoured with their choice of posts, while senior employees are being transferred to far-off places. The tribal communities have voiced concerns that the GO may dilute the constitutional protections for tribal areas, as it doesn't specify Adivasi agency area-specific cadre allocation.