President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil gave her consent for the deletion of Clause 14 (f) of the 1975 Presidential Order, which had made Hyderabad a free zone for employment. Telangana leaders had been demanding that Hyderabad should not be a free zone where candidates from all over the state can compete for recruitment for government posts, largely in the police force. They wanted deletion of the clause so that candidates from Telanana get preference. A state government release said, the ministry of Home Affairs has also issued a notification that the President has given her approval for deleting the sub-paragraph (f) of Clause 14 of the 1975 Presidential Order. This effectively means, the Andhra Pradesh capital ceases to be a free zone for employment, and would become a part of other Telanaga districts.Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had taken up the matter with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as well as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The issue was taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which decided to recommend to the President that deletion of 14 (f) be approved.