ORDER:

1 Seeking to declare the action of the second respondent to cancel Gazetted status to the Assistant Engineers and recommending for cancellation of G.O.Ms.No.84 I & CAD (Ser.I.1) Department, dated 14.06.2011, vide his letter dated 04.11.2022, the petitioner filed the present writ petition. Petitioners further sought a consequential direction that the first respondent shall not take any action in pursuance of the letter addressed by the second respondent dated 04.11.2022.

2 Petitioners assert that all of them are working as Assistant Engineers in Telangana Irrigation Engineering Department. The erstwhile Government of Andhra Pradesh, vide G.O.Ms.No.84 dated 14.06.2011 conferred gazetted status to Assistant Engineers in all the Engineering Departments. While so, the second respondent sent proposals for cancellation of gazetted status to the post of Assistant Engineers in all the Engineering Departments. Thereupon, the first respondent issued Memo dated 18.08.2022 requesting the second respondent to furnish a copy of norms prescribed by the Public Service Commission; obtain and communicate the opinion of the respective service associations of all the Engineering Departments; and to take necessary action to process for recruitment to the post of Assistant Engineers in consultation with TSPSC as was done in the year 2016. Notices were issued to four associations (cid:150) two of them belonging to Assistant Executive Engineers and two of them belonging to Assistant Engineers. The Irrigation Diploma Engineers associations, after receiving the notice dated 18.10.2022, sent an elaborate representation dated 20.10.2022. Similar representations were also made by other service Engineering associations of other engineering departments opposing the cancellation of the gazetted status given to AE(cid:146)s through G.O.Ms.No.84 dated 14.06.2011. However, the second respondent addressed letter dated 04.11.2022 stating that there was a unanimous decision to recommend for cancellation of gazetted status. Hence the present writ petition.

3 Sri Surender Rao, the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of Sri Srinivasa Rao Madiraju, the learned counsel for the petitioners submits that G.O.Ms.No.84 was issued on 14.06.2011 conferring gazetted status to the post of Assistant Engineer in all engineering departments and by virtue of the said G.O, the writ petitioners are enjoying and officiating as gazetted officers while discharging their duties as Assistant Engineers. While so, without causing any notice and without hearing all the stakeholders of other unions and in spite of the fact that some of the unions have opposed the said proposal, the first respondent issued Memo dated 18.08.2022, which would effect the career prospects of the petitioners irrespective of the fact that they have been discharging their duties as gazetted officers to the utmost satisfaction of their superiors. He further submits that withdrawing the gazetted status conferred on the petitioners unilaterally that too without hearing is illegal and arbitrary.

4 The learned Government Pleader for Irrigation and Commandant Area Development submits that the impugned letter dated 18.08.2022 is completely an internal communication between the officers of the Government and the writ petitioners, shall, first of all, disclose the source of information from whom they have obtained the correspondence. He further submits that though it is an internal communication, but still, it is under consideration and it is only a proposal and no action has yet been taken thereon. He further submitted that during the meeting held on 18.07.2022 between the Chairman, TSPSC and all the HOD(cid:146)s of the Engineering Departments, all the HODs have informed that they are considering the AE post as Non-Gazetted and that the recruitment of Assistant Engineers was also taken up in the year 2016 under Non-Gazetted category. In that meeting the Chairman TSPSC informed that necessary orders on cancellatio