Telangana to make strong pitch for resolution of bifurcation issues at MHA meeting on Oct 22

The State government has decided to focus on making a strong pitch for resolution of the pending bifurcation issues with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

The government has entrusted the responsibility of presenting the State’s cause in the bifurcation issues to the Planning department. The subject matters of State Reorganisation of General Administration (SR-GC) Department, including the matters relating to Inter-State Council, Southern Zonal Council, and Punchi Commission, are allotted to Secretary to Government, Planning department – in addition to his regular duties.

Chief Minister’s advisor K. Ramakrishna Rao was handling the reorganisation affairs when he was the Finance principal secretary but the government did not find a suitable replacement after his elevation as Chief Secretary and later as advisor to the Chief Minister – post his superannuation.

Planning Secretary Gaurav Uppal has been entrusted the job of defending the State’s interests as he was well versed with the subject. Dr. Uppal participated in the meetings convened by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the past when he was resident commissioner of Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi.

More than 12 years after the bifurcation of the erstwhile united State, a majority of issues including apportionment of assets of the schedule IX and X institutions as well as the institutions not mentioned anywhere in the AP Reorganisaiton Act 2014 remained unresolved. Though the State had successfully convinced the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on its stand pertaining to location based distribution of the assets, the neighbouring State had been repeatedly seeking apportionment of institutions like the Singareni Collieries Company Limited which has its base and operations in Telangana.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has convened the next meeting of the two States for resolution of the pending issues on October 22. The meeting was planned on September 30, it was deferred and the Union Ministry had recently conveyed the fresh date for the meeting. Apportionment of Schedule IX and X institutions as well as the institutions not mentioned anywhere in the Act, apportionment of amount pertaining to Centrally sponsored schemes between the two States, apportionment of public debt pertaining to externally aided projects and reimbursement of expenditure incurred by Telangana government on common institutions used by Andhra Pradesh when Hyderabad was the joint capital form part of the agenda of the next meeting.

The meeting assumes significance as Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s request to the two States to settle the pending reorganisation issues amicably holding mutual discussions came as a dampener for the two States. The Union Minister’s suggestion is construed as bringing the vexatious issues back to square one as the Centre had thrown the ball back into the States’ court rather than taking the initiative to resolve the pending issues.