HC orders status quo on VAOs transfer

Chennai, Dec 11 (UNI) Madras High Court today ordered maintenance of status quo over the transfer of Village Administrative Officers (VAOs) in Tamil Nadu.

Mr Justice P Jyothimani ordered the status quo while posting to December 21, further hearing of the petition filed by Tamil Nadu VAOs Munetra Sangham.

In its petition, the Sangham submitted that the Revenue Secretary passed a Government Order (GO) on August 10, 1992 that the VAOs should be transferred within their taluk and that they should not be transferred within three years. The general transfer of VAOs should be done in the months between April and May. From 1992 onwards the GO was given effect to. While being so, it came to know that the present order dated August 14, 2006, issued by the Revenue Secretary stated that though the transfer of VAOs should be done only in the month of April and May, this year due to necessity the transfers has to be made in the month of August 2006 and should be done on or before August 31.

The GO does not stated under what urgency it was passed. Based on this GO, the Chief Commissioner and Commissioner for Revenue Administration, issued a letter to the District Collectors of Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Coimbatore, giving some guidelines and how the procedure to be followed in transfer. This GO was against the 1992 GO, he said.

Though there were 32 districts in the state, the GO was given effect to only in three districts. If the transfer was effected, the seniority of VAOs will be affected and the VAOs will be transferred to other districts, the Sangham added and sought to restrain the authorities concerned from making transfer of VAOs.

UNI XR ROY PK RN2002