DGP Anjani Kumar, IPS Officers Abhilash Bist & Abhishek Mahanty ordered back to AP Cadre
Hyderabad: The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has initiated a major reshuffle by directing several Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers originally allocated to Andhra Pradesh to report back to the Andhra Pradesh administration. This decision follows the rejection of their applications to remain in Telangana.
Among those notably affected is Anjani Kumar, a senior IPS officer currently serving as the Director General of Police (DGP) for Telangana. He, along with IPS officers Abhilash Bist and Abhishek Mahanty, is required to join the Andhra Pradesh cadre by October 16, 2024.
Additionally, IAS officers Vaniprasad, Vakati Karuna, and Prashanthi, currently holding various positions in Telangana, are also mandated to transfer to Andhra Pradesh.
It was reported on October 10, 2024, that Amrapali Kata, the Commissioner of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), and Ronald Ross, CMD of Transco, were similarly impacted and asked to shift to Andhra Pradesh. Both had been previously assigned to Andhra Pradesh but stayed in Telangana due to ongoing legal disputes following the state’s bifurcation.
In contrast, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) directed three IAS officers from Andhra Pradesh, Srijana, Sivashankar, and Harikiran, to report back to Telangana. Appeals from other officers, such as Rawat and Anantaramu, requesting transfers to Telangana were denied, and they will continue their duties in Andhra Pradesh.
This reshuffle follows a January High Court ruling mandating the DoPT to reassess officer allocations made post-bifurcation. With the new orders now in effect, affected officers must decide whether to comply or challenge the directive legally, as many did after the 2014 division.
The decision aligns with the High Court’s judgment on January 3, 2024, which called for a re-evaluation of All India Services (AIS) officer allocations between the successor states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, based on recommendations from the Pratyush Sinha Committee.
Moreover, a related order issued on March 21, 2024, established a single-member committee to review the final allocation of AIS officers from the former Andhra Pradesh cadre, with both states asked to gather and submit representations from affected officers.
