Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act: Centre to appoint official to coordinate with AP, Telangana

New Delhi: The Centre has decided to appoint a senior Home Ministry official to coordinate with Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and concerned ministries for speedy implementation of the provisions in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

The decision came following a meeting of a delegation of Andhra Pradesh BJP leaders with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, and a talk by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu with Singh on the issue.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has agreed to appoint Additional Secretary A K Singh from his ministry as the Nodal Officer for coordinating with AP and Telangana and concerned central ministries for speedy implementation of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, a statement issued by the delegation said.

Naidu suggested that a senior officer of Home Ministry be appointed as a Nodal Officer to coordinate with the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for resolving various issues between them and also with concerned ministries of the central government for execution of different projects in both the states.

A team of officers, led by Additional Secretary, would be visiting Hyderabad on March 20 to hold discussions with the Chief Secretaries of the bifurcated States for resolving the pending issues.

In addition the Union Home Minister also agreed to the suggestion of Naidu that in certain cases pending issues can be resolved by using removal of difficulty orders in the APR Act and has directed his officers to expedite the matter in this regard.

The Home Minister held discussion with the BJP delegation in the Office of the Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

Later, speaking to reporters Naidu said the Nodal Officer and his team would be leaving for Andhra Pradesh tomorrow.

"The appointment of the Nodal Officer is a first step towards the resolution of issues between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as per the AP Reorganisation Act," he added.