naidu-calls-on-reddy-to-solve-bifurcation-issues

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has written a letter to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy, proposing a face-to-face meeting on July 6 to address unresolved bifurcation issues.

 

Naidu proposed to meet at Reddy’s place in Hyderabad.

 

“It has been 10 years since bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. There have been multiple discussions concerning issues arising from the Reorganisation Act, which hold significant implications for the welfare and advancement of our states,” said Naidu in the letter.

 

It is incumbent upon the CMs of the Telugu speaking states to foster close collaboration to ensure sustained progress and prosperity of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he said.

 

He said a face-to-face meeting will provide an opportunity to engage comprehensively towards achieving mutually beneficial solutions.

 

Detail on issues pertaining to both the states

 

This includes both asset sharing and joint capital

 

Row over payment of dues for supply of power.

Transfer of employees is one of the issues which is waiting for final resolution.

The Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers’ Union Central that they submitted a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on May 18 urging the government to bring back the leftover (144) Telangana employees allotted to AP during state bifurcation.

These employees have been working in AP since 2014.

Another example is the disagreement between the two states over assets of the state-run Road Transport Corporation.

A senior official of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) told the media that AP sought a share in assets of the corporation located in Hyderabad and that the TSRTC has denied and disagreed on it.

The TSRTC feels that these assets belong to it as per the definition of ‘headquarters’ given by the Sheela Bhide panel.

CM A Revanth Reddy had instructed the officials to settle amicably the pending transfer and repatriation of employees to Andhra Pradesh.

He had told the officials to resolve the issues where there is reconciliation between the two states and to act in such a way to protect the interests of Telangana over other pending matters.

It was fulfilment of a decades-long demand when Telangana came into existence on June 2, 2014 following the passage of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation bill in Parliament in February, 2014, during the previous UPA regime.

According to Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, after 10 years of bifurcation, Hyderabad will be the capital of Telangana only.

Buildings like the Lake View government guest house in Hyderabad which were given to Andhra Pradesh for a period of 10 years have been asked to return.

The row over Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi was resolved in March this year with the Centre making land allocation to the two states. The Centre had held a meeting with senior officials from both the states in the National Capital in March on bifurcation issues.

 

The asset sharing between the two states detailed in Schedules IX and X of the Reorganisation Act of 2014 still stands unresolved. Even now, both states are fighting in tribunals for the share of Krishna and Godavari waters.

 

While Schedule X listed training institutes that the two states must share, Schedule IX listed the division of state public sector units. The division of 22 PSUs, out of 91 PSUs, remains unresolved.

 

The act distributes assets according to their location and debt, and liabilities according to population.

 

The 10th Schedule of the Act includes 107 training institutions/centres like AP State Co-operative Union, Environment Protection Training and Research Institute, AP Forest Academy, Centre for Good Governance and Andhra Pradesh Police Academy.

 

Though an expert committee headed by retired bureaucrat Sheela Bhide gave recommendations on bifurcation of Schedule IX and X institutions, the matter remained unresolved.

 

The total fixed asset value of 245 institutions that are to be shared between the states has been pegged at Rs 1.42 lakh crore. The headquarter assets of institutions under Schedule IX were valued at Rs 24,018.53 crore, while those under Schedule X were valued at Rs 34,642.77 crore.