After fighting a prolonged legal battle for nearly a decade, IAS officer Kata Amrapali has finally achieved a hard-earned victory. The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has ordered in her favor, enabling her to return to the Telangana cadre — a region in which she had been serving and desired to continue right from the time of the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh.
After Andhra Pradesh and Telangana became distinct states, Amrapali was assigned to the Andhra Pradesh cadre by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Yet she did not want to make the transition. Having already adapted to Telangana’s administrative environment, she submitted her preference to continue her service there — a choice made by many other IAS and IPS officers at the time.
Despite her request, DoPT assigned her to the AP cadre, forcing her to approach the courts. For almost 10 years, she continued working in Telangana while legally challenging the cadre allocation. Amrapali was from Nellore district but moved to Visakhapatnam with her family years ago. She selected the Andhra Pradesh cadre when she was joining the IAS, keeping in mind where her family was — not knowing of the impending bifurcation of the state.
Over time, she grew closely connected with Telangana’s administrative landscape and was keen on staying. But with the legal case still pending, the Centre recently directed her — along with two other IAS officers — to formally join the AP cadre. She respected the order and assumed duty as the Secretary of the Tourism Department of Andhra Pradesh.
Now, in a big relief, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has given its verdict in her favour, formally transferring her to the Telangana cadre. With this order, Amrapali is likely to return to Telangana soon, ending the ten-year struggle.
