Chief Ministers of TG and A.P. take concrete step for resolution of pending bifurcation issues

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers form committees to resolve pending issues post Reorganisation Act, focusing on assets and liabilities.

In what could be called the first concrete step for resolution of the pending issues, arising out of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Ministers of the two States — A. Revanth Reddy and N. Chandrababu Naidu — are understood to have resolved to constitute two committees one of ministers and other of officials for evolving a roadmap for their resolution.

The close to two-hour long meeting of the two Chief Ministers took a decision to this effect for expeditiously resolving the nagging differences between the two States amicably. Accordingly, the committee of ministers and the committee of officials will have representation from the two States for identifying issues which needed immediate focus and those that could be settled through negotiations between the two States.

The composition of the committees will be finalised after the two States exchange information about the Ministers and officials they propose to depute for taking up the issues on behalf of the respective States. Once notified, the panels will hold discussions department-wise to identify issues that could be resolved across the table at the respective governments level and the ones that could take longer.

On the expected lines, the two Chief Ministers are understood to have confined their discussions to bifurcation issues without giving scope for any deviation. They reportedly sought information about the status of the pending issues and resolved to constitute the two panels. The discussion primarily focussed on the apportionment of assets and liabilities of different institutions listed under Schedule IX and X as also those that did not find mention in the Reorganisation Act.

The Telangana government is learnt to have sought re-merger of the seven mandals, including the five villages abutting temple town Bhadrachalam, that were merged with Andhra Pradesh post formation of Telangana State on June 2, 2014. But it had been decided to represent the matter to the Central government together as the merger of the mandals with A.P. was carried out through amendment made to the Reorganisation Act in Parliament.

Some issues pertaining to the two States which were out of the purview of the Reorganisation Act like apportionment of 12 institutions which did not find mention in the Act were said to have figured in the discussion. But the two sides decided to represent the matter to the Union Home Ministry which was the nodal agency at the Central level for resolution of such issues.

The meeting organised after the initiative taken by Mr. Chandrababu Naidu to find solution to the long pending disputes between the two States in relation to the Reorganisation Act went off in a cordial atmosphere. Mr. Revanth Reddy, accompanied by his Cabinet colleagues Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, D. Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari and others accorded warm reception to his A.P. counterpart as the latter arrived at th Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan at 6 p.m. as scheduled. After exchanging pleasantries like presentation of bouquets, the Telangana Chief Minister accompanied by Ministers took Mr. Naidu to the conference hall where the meeting was held.