TG braces up to resolve split issues with AP at a fast clip

Hyderabad : Does the Union Home Ministry have any role to play in resolving the bifurcation-related issues between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after June 2, 2024, which happens to be the completion of 10 years of the bifurcation of AP? The question was raised as the AP Reorganisation Act-2014 mentioned that all the bifurcation related issues including Hyderabad as the joint capital would be addressed in a 10-year period.

This question came up after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed the authorities to speed up the completion of bifurcation-related issues between the two states, mainly the division of assets and payment of dues owed by Andhra Pradesh to Telangana.

Top officials said that as per the Act, the issues related to division of assets should be solved before the completion of 10 years of the formation of Telangana state under the Act, which also made it clear that Hyderabad would no longer be a joint capital from June onwards this year. “Now, the major issue is whether the Union Home Ministry will continue to play the role of a nodal agency to address the issues between the two states. The state officials will seek clarification from the ministry on its role after June 2. Once the ministry clears the air on the issue, the state will move further”, a top official said.

While legal hurdles and around Rs 20,000 crore pending dues, including power dues from Andhra Pradesh under the AP Reorganisation Act-2014, the issue posed a major challenge before the Telangana government.

The state government is already finding ways to solve the asset distribution and division of corporations under schedule 9 and 10 and clear the dues form Andhra Pradesh. Officials said that the long pending division of assets were still pending due to objections raised by the Andhra Pradesh and a case was pending before the Supreme court on the division of AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE).

The other major issue was division of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and its subsidiary Andhra Pradesh Heavy Machinery and Engineering Limited (APHMEL) based on population ratio (58:42). The AP government was demanding division of SCCL and APHMEL, while Telangana strongly objected to it. As a result, the AP government was creating hurdles to solve other pending division of assets. Officials said that the government is finding alternatives to solve all the issues with AP government at the earliest.