GHMC Chief Amrapali Kata’s request for Telangana Cadre rejected, ordered to return to Andhra

Hyderabad: The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department has denied GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata’s request to be assigned to the Telangana cadre. An IAS officer from the 2010 Andhra Pradesh cadre, Amrapali Kata sought to be recognised as a Telangana domicile, but her application was rejected based on the Khandekar Committee’s assessment.

Having served as the GHMC Commissioner, she must now return to the Andhra Pradesh cadre, as her request to stay in Telangana has been officially declined.

The Khandekar Committee, tasked with reviewing such requests, concluded that Amrapali Kata’s appeal violated the established guidelines for allocating IAS officers after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The committee noted that she had challenged these guidelines, which the High Court upheld.

In its findings, the committee observed that Amrapali Kata listed her permanent address as Vishakhapatnam on her UPSC application and claimed insider status in Telangana. However, the Pratyush Sinha Committee, which oversaw the initial allocations, had already rejected her request based on the approved guidelines.

The Ministry supported the Khandekar Committee’s recommendation, stating that the allocation process for officers from the undivided Andhra Pradesh cadre was applied consistently and based on factual information. The High Court also said the necessity of adhering to these guidelines, warning that any deviations could be discriminatory.

Moreover, the court indicated that Kata’s challenge to the guidelines constituted an overreach into policymaking. The Khandekar Committee reaffirmed that her placement in the Andhra Pradesh cadre was determined by objective criteria that applied to all officers during the bifurcation.

As a result, Amrapali Kata will need to transition back to the Andhra Pradesh cadre.