New secretariat for Andhra Pradesh might be delayed

Hyderabad: The legislature and government of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh will ha-ve to wait longer than their counterparts of Telangana to start functioning after the Appointed Day of June 2.

The newly-elected MLAs of Andhra Pradesh will have to wait to take oath and the new CM and his Council of Ministers will have no office to function out of, at least till the first Cabinet meeting of the Telangana government takes place. As per the Telangana Bill, the Governor will allot government buildings in Hyderabad to both the state governments.

Official sources told Deccan Chronicle that the powers of the Governor in the common capital, allotment of buildings and holding of sessions by the AP Assembly came up for discussion during a high-level meeting held by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan with the state officials.

“In discharge of the functions, the Governor shall, after consulting the Council of Ministers of Telangana, exercise his individual judgment as to the action to be taken,” states the Act.

“Though the Act states that the Governor will have the final say in the event of difference of opinion between Raj Bhavan and the Telangana government, it mandates the Governor to consult the Telangana Cabinet first,” said a senior official.

Sources said that chief secretary P.K. Mohanty held discussions with Assembly secretary Raja Sadaram about accommodating two Assemblies and Councils. “One option will be that the two state legislatures meet at the same venue one after the other. But, in case of Budget Sessions, which run for longer periods, the legislature of the other state will have to wait to take up its business,” said an official.

A suggestion to initiate informal dialogue with the prospective chief ministers of the two states before the Appointed Day was also under consideration since there will be two weeks from the date of announcement of results for the Assembly and the Appointed Day.

Meanwhile, the sub-committee on buildings in the common capital is of the view that both governments can comfortably function from the Secretariat, which has adequate space for ministers and department heads.

“We will recommend to the government to allot certain blocks to each government,” a committee member said, adding that there should not be any walls separating the two blocks as a symbolic expression of Telugu unity.

The committee members were also in favour of adjusting two state administrations in the state-level directorates and commissionerates of different departments on the existing premises. “As it is we are handling the workload of 23 districts in the same building. All we need is some relocation within the same premises,” another official pointed out.