Andhra Pradesh chief secretary shunted out after spat

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh chief secretary LV Subrahmanyam was shunted out on Monday, days after serious disputes emerged among senior bureaucrats of the state over the rules of business.

The order to the effect was issued by the Andhra Pradesh general administration principal secretary (political) Praveen Prakash, who was served a show-cause notice by the chief secretary on Friday for alleged violation of the rules of business and conduct. It came on a day when the chief secretary was in Hyderabad to hold parleys with his counterpart in Telangana, to resolve certain contentious issues between the two states.

According to the order, Subrahmanyam has been relieved of the chief secretary’s role with immediate effect. He has been asked to take charge as director general at the Human Resources Development Institute.

“The unfortunate spat between two senior bureaucrats could have been resolved in a more mature and thoughtful manner,” a top Andhra bureaucrat told ET, requesting anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue. “This kind of drastic decisions would send adverse signals to the world on how bureaucrats in Andhra set their house in order and also affects the state’s image,” he said, adding that it “discredits everyone in the bureaucracy and leaves bitterness among the bureaucrats that could affect the decision-making pace in Andhra”.

Praveen Prakash, who was serving as the resident commissioner at Andhra Bhavan in Delhi, was in September brought in by chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy to head the crucial general administration department (political) as its principal secretary. Amid media reports that the YSR Congress government was unhappy with the pace of progress on its decisions pertaining to various issues, Praveen Prakash on October 25 issued government orders (GO) fixing timeframes for special chief secretaries, principal secretaries and secretaries to issue orders on the instructions passed by the CM. This development had attracted wide discussion among bureaucrats.

The order he issued through GO 128 also said the chief minister “may direct Principal Secretary (Political) to issue show cause notice to concerned Special Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary/Secretary for taking necessary action”.