'Telugu must in all offices'

95 p.c. implementation in Nizamabad: Language panel chief

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Srikakulam, Chittoor districts placed second and third respectively

A.B. K. Prasad for steps to implement Telugu in full by February-end

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KADAPA: Nizamabad district is ‘numero uno’ in the State with a 95 per cent record in implementation of Telugu in all official correspondence followed by Srikakulam and Chittoor districts in the second and third place, Official Language Commission Chairman A.B.K. Prasad, said on Wednesday.

Four districts were implementing Telugu in official correspondence, Mr. Prasad told newsmen here. Quoting official claims, he said implementation of Telugu as official language was 66 per cent in Kadapa district and exhorted the officials to strive for increasing it to over 80 per cent.

Lauding district Collector M.T. Krishna Babu’s directive two days ago, to mandatorily forward all note files to him in Telugu, he said the official concerned responded positively though belatedly. The Commission would forward a report to the government suggesting action on districts which fail to enforce the official language.

The commission chairman complimented the district panchayat office for ensuring 85 per cent implementation of Telugu in its official correspondence. He lauded the efforts of Khader Basha, administrative officer in district panchayat office, though Telugu was not his mother tongue.

He advised other government departments in the district to emulate the district panchayat office.

Mr. A.B.K. Prasad was chief guest at the ‘Telugu Vikasam’ programme, a competition conducted for junior and senior assistants and supervisory staff in drafting note file in Telugu at Kalakshetram here.

British days

Addressing a meeting in the evening, Mr. A.B.K. Prasad recalled that British officers such as Charles Phillip Brown, Thomas Munroe and MacKenzie ensured all official correspondence in Telugu one-and-a-half century ago, for the understanding of the common man, but the penchant to use English has increased in recent times.

Official language was being effectively implemented in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, but not so vigorously in Andhra Pradesh, he lamented.

Cautioning that lack of frequent use would lead to diminishing influence of a language, he said IAS and IPS officers should follow the stipulation of adhering to all correspondence in native language of any State within an year of their posting.

He wanted steps to ensure improvement in the implementation of Telugu by end of February. District Revenue Officer K. Madhusudan, said in his report, that implementation of official language was 81 per cent in Kadapa Collectorate and 82 per cent in the SP’s office, and the district average was 66 per cent. Efforts were on to draft land acquisition notices in Telugu, he said.

Poor implementation

The chairman lamented poor implementation of Telugu at 25 per cent in the Social Welfare and School Education Departments, 12 per cent in Annamayya project and five per cent in Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi project.

The State government’s service rules, a dictionary and 10 other books would be released in Telugu soon, he said. He gave away prizes to winners of the note file drafting and elocution contests. Joint Collector M. Girijasankar, Zilla Parishad CEO Venkataswamy and DEO G.A. Hemanath, Yogi Vemana University Head of Telugu Department Rachapalem Chandrasekhar Reddy participated.

Courtesy: The Hindu