Hyderabad: The AP government has decided to take back 329 employees, local candidates from AP who opted to work in AP but got allotted to Telangana, by creating some supernumerary posts to accommodate them. They have been seeking to return since some time now. About 1,239 Telangana state employees, who wanted to work there but got allotted to AP, have been requesting the Telangana state government to take them back.

The AP government is of the view that if it takes back 329 employees working in the Telangana state government, pressure will, vice versa, mount on its counterpart to take back its 1,239 employees, which will surely reduce the AP government's financial burden. The total number of employees to be divided between the AP and Telangana states is about 57,000, and the tentative allocation of 49,747 employees has been completed until now.

Of the 1,239 Telangana state employees in the AP government currently, 758 are last grade employees, 439 non-gazetted officers and 32 are gazetted officers. In comparison, out of 329 employees from AP who were allotted to Telangana, 181 are gazetted officers, 143 are non-gazetted and only five are last grade. AP finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu held a meeting on Monday with officials of the finance and other departments. Finance department officials told the minister that if AP took a decision considering the request of 329 employees, the final number of posts to be created could be less than 329, after allowing for those who had retired and those who may opt to remain in Telangana.