PIL filed seeking shifting of Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta offices to Vijayawada
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‘They are continuing to function from Hyderabad even after State’s bifurcation’
Y. Soma Raju, a Tadepalligudem-based advocate, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Andhra Pradesh High Court praying for shifting of the office of the institutions of Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta from Hyderabad to the R&B buildings in Vijayawada without further delay.
The petitioner said that a G.O. had been issued on September 4, 2019, for the allocation of office space to the institutions in the R&B buildings as per the guidelines of the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Thereafter, a notification was issued on September 27, 2019, that since the premises for the institutions of Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta was under construction, it would function from Hyderabad till further orders.
The issuance of these two G.Os. in a gap of 23 days needed to be explained, he said in his petition.
Post-bifurcation, most of the government institutions and offices of Heads of Departments shifted to Andhra Pradesh. Even the high court moved from Hyderabad to Nelapadu in Guntur district, he said.
But the institutions of Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta was still functioning from Hyderabad, making it difficult to file cases.
The high court should, therefore, direct the State government to shift the said offices to the R&B buildings and arrange a mechanism for receiving the complaints.
Mr. Soma Raju mentioned that the institutions of Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta were created in the States by taking a cue from the Ombudsman in the Scandinavian countries.
The institutions were included in the 10th Schedule of the Reorganisation Act, he said.
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