Revenue staff set to go on strike

By Our Special CorrespondentHYDERABAD, SEPT 10 The last-ditch effort to resolve the revenue staff strike, made at the Chief Minister level here on Monday, failed and with that, the stir appeared certain from midnight tonight.

Leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Revenue Services Association (APRSA) met the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, but the discussions made no headway. The dialogue, revolving around the general issue of ``suspensions'' of revenue staff effected by Collectors in different districts, came to a deadend when the leaders insisted on immediate reinstatement of the suspended superintendent of the Visakhapatnam Collectorate, Mr N. Ananda Rao.

The Revenue Minister, Mr P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who was also present, told The Hindu that the Chief Minister sought time for an enquiry by the Chief Commissioner for Land Administration to find out the truth regarding Mr. Ananda Rao's involvement in the ``defence land scam'' before any decision was taken to reinstate him. But, APRSA leaders were ``obdurate'' and demanded immediate reinstatement, pending enquiry for deferring the strike. The Minister said a probe was on into the matter by the CBI as the matter concerned a Defence dealing, apart from the one by the CB- CID. The Government would be able to take a decision on the reinstatement, if any, only on receipt of these reports also, he said.

After the meeting with the Chief Minister, the APRSA leaders left the headquarters in three batches to fan out in the three regions of the State for mobilising support. The one headed by Mr T. Sudhakara Prasad, APRSA general secretary, reached Nalgonda by evening for an "action programme" tomorrow in view of the fact that the Collector of this district had "defied" the orders issued by the Government, the CCLA and the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal for reinstatement of an MRO suspended by him, Mrs K. Lalitha. The suspension was revoked and she was reinstated only after a contempt petition was filed before the Tribunal, Mr Sudharkara Prasad said.

Meanwhile, the Secretariat Employees Coordination Committee representing 6,000 odd staff in the Secretariat, served a strike notice on the Government. Leaders of the committee were conducted to meet the Secretary, Mr. T. Jesudhanam. The Committee convener, Mr D. Murali Mohan, later said the Secretary had offered to refer the demands, including housing, to a Cabinet sub-committee on services, to be formed. The Committee leaders, however, convened a meeting later to consider the offer and arrived at the ``consensus'' that such reference would not help.

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Section  : Southern States
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