APSFL Chairman GV Reddy said that the staff that the APSFL would sack were those who were appointed without any qualifications.
Published Dec 25, 2024 | 11:22 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 25, 2024 | 11:22 AM
AP State FiberNet Ltd. (Wikimedia)
The Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) is all set to axe 410 staff appointed by the previous YSRCP government.
The decision was taken as part of the ongoing catharsis of the entire organization, APSFL chairman GV Reddy said on Tuesday, 24 December.
The APSFL chairman speaking with the media said that it had come to his notice that a scam of ₹2,150 crore had taken place in the APSFL under the YSRCP dispensation. Because of the scam, the APSF is on the brink of bankruptcy now, he said.
Speaking to media persons about the director Ram Gopal Varma, he said that 15 days had been given to the director to return the money he had taken illegally. “If he does not oblige, we will have to lodge a complaint with the police,” he said.
Earlier, the director was served legal notice by the APFSL demanding a payment of approximately ₹1.15 crore — which was earlier paid to by APSFL for telecasting Vyuham movie on APSFL’s First Show platform. The notice demanded payment with 12 percent interest from the date of payment made to RGV Aarvi Group till the date of realisation, and 18 percent on the said amount towards penalty, within 15 days of receiving the notice.
Reddy said that the staff that the APSFL would sack were those who were appointed without any qualifications. “Some of them were working at the houses of the YSRCP leaders as cooks and drivers. Some who were taken into the APSFL had no appointment letters. All such employees would be shown the door”, he said, pointing out that it has led to a drain of hundreds of crores of rupees of public funds.
GV Reddy further said: “The YSRCP MLAs and MPs, under the previous dispensation, had enrolled them in APSFL. They had given a go-by to the rules while appointing them. Those who were taken were not given any work. We will recover the money that had been misappropriated. We have no other motive. If we keep quiet even after noticing a large scam that has taken place, we would be making a mistake.”
He said that going forward, enough safeguards would be built to prevent the hiring of people who have no qualifications. “The then Managing Director of APSFL should take responsibility for these irregularities,” he said and made it clear that very soon legal notices would be sent to all those who are found to have played a role in the commission of these irregularities.
He said the employees were not being sacked irrationally. “They are those who are not needed in APSFL and do not have the qualifications necessary for the jobs for which they had been recruited. We will retain only the employees of the number that we need. Why would we terminate anyone who has been appointed in accordance with the rules?” Reddy asked.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
