Vijayawada: The construction of nearly 22,000 houses for employees near the capital city is a big challenge for the AP government. Even though the state government has planned to run the administration from Vijayawada city, the employees are reluctant to leave Hyderabad.
The employees have already raised the residential facility problem. They demanded that the government provide residential facility in capital region. As per their demand, the government should now provide residence facility before they shift base from Hyderabad to Vijayawada.
However, the government now finds itself in a tough spot over the issue. It may be remembered that recently the irrigation department issued orders to shift employees to Vijayawada city. However, they staged a massive protest in Hyderabad and asked the government to postpone the decision till residential facilities were provided. Following this, the irrigation department had cancelled the decision.
Similarly, the employees of other departments also may not shift to city. “The situation would change only if the government provided facilities like residence and house plots,” said a government official on condition of anonymity. Apart from this, employees expressed worry on rentals in the cities of Vijayawada and Guntur. AP NGO Association Krishna district president A. Vidya Sagar said the government should shift employees on priority basis.
Increasing rents put staffers in a spot
The rental values have shot up in the capital region in the past few months and this has become a cause of worry for the state government employees in the two cities. One of the main reasons behind the skyrocketing rents is the state bifurcation. The house owners, anticipating the inflow of employees from Hyderabad and other regions, have already increased the rents.
While the shifting of employees' proposal has not yet materialised, house owners have increased the rents abnormally. A double bedroom flat, for which the rent earlier was Rs 6,000, is being rented out for Rs 10,000 now.
Irrigation employees who were transferred from Hyderabad to Vijayawada are opposing the government decision due to the abnormal increase in rental values. Even though rents are high, sufficient numbers of residences are not available for the employees, said the Tax Payers Association secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu said.
