Hyderabad: Former minister and BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T. Harish Rao on Wednesday alleged that governance in Telangana has suffered due to frequent transfers of senior officials under the Congress government led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
Speaking to reporters, Harish Rao said nearly 140 IAS officers have been transferred since the new government came to power, including 20 district collectors, with four collectors changed in Rangareddy district alone. He said the government has carried out five major reshuffles of IAS and IPS officers, creating instability in administration.
“Governance has become a joke. If officials are changed repeatedly, how can the system function?” he asked.
According to him, department heads are not even able to complete an average tenure of eight months, making it difficult to achieve results. He said the power department alone saw five senior officials changed in the past two years, which he claimed has severely affected the functioning of the sector.
Harish Rao also listed several departments where senior officials were frequently changed. These include Singareni, GHMC, Information and Public Relations, School Education, Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration, IT, Mining and the National Health Mission. He said eight officials were changed in Arogyasri alone, which has impacted the healthcare system.
He said a district collector needs at least six months to understand the district, but many collectors are being transferred even before that period. Frequent transfers, particularly of young collectors, are affecting their morale, he said.
The BRS leader alleged that postings and transfers are being decided based on whether officials please the Chief Minister and ministers. “If they are liked, they get good postings. Otherwise they face transfers,” he said.
Harish Rao also criticized the government for granting service extensions to several retired IAS and IPS officers as well as engineers. He pointed out that Congress leaders had earlier criticized such extensions during the BRS regime.
He further alleged irregularities in the Young India Schools construction tenders, claiming contracts are being awarded at five percent higher rates. He said details of the alleged irregularities would be revealed soon.
Raising another issue, Harish Rao alleged illegal mining activities in Neopolis and Rajendranagar. He claimed a fixed crushing plant had been set up despite permissions being given only for mobile crushing units. According to him, mining is taking place on 15 acres despite permission for only 10 acres, and fees have been evaded on 15 lakh cubic meters of stone.
He also alleged that a company linked to Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy was carrying out mining activities without proper permissions near Rajendranagar. A BRS team will visit the site on Thursday to verify the allegations, he said.
Harish Rao also accused the government of not fully implementing transparency measures. He said only about 20 percent of government orders are available online while the rest remain offline, despite directions from the High Court.
He further criticized the state of public healthcare, citing incidents such as rats being found in Warangal MGM Hospital and dogs entering a hospital in Jadcherla.
The BRS leader also questioned the functioning of the Assembly, saying key posts like Deputy Speaker and Chief Whip remain vacant, and House committees are not being constituted.
On the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, Harish Rao said the party’s decision would be announced later. “Let the suspense remain. Let us wait until tomorrow,” he said.
