Andhra Pradesh gets back dairy taken over by Telangana

Hyderabad: In a setback to the TS government over the division of 89 common institutions listed under Schedule IX of the AP Reorganisation Act, the Centre has revived the status of AP Dairy Development Corporation located in Lalapet, Hyderabad, which had existed prior to bifurcation.

The TS government had formed its own dairy development corporation and transferred all the properties of APDDC to the entity. Following a complaint lodged by the AP government, the Centre revived the original status of APDDC and made it clear that the 89 common institutions cannot be bifurcated unilaterally.

Of these 89 institutions, 80 are in TS, mostly in Hyderabad, and nine are in AP. The TS government, which has suffered legal setbacks on 107 Schedule X institutions and has been forced to share the assets and liabilities with AP under the supervision of the Centre, is worried over the latest directive on Schedule IX institutions.

The Centre had appointed a committee headed by a retired IAS officer for bifurcation of these institutions in June 2014. The committee during its term had submitted bifurcation proposals of 59 companies.

Common institutions worth Rs 50,000 crore
Following this, the AP government had raised a few objections stating that bifurcation should not be confined to just assets and liabilities but also to employees, to which TS opposed. Due to this tussle, the Centre had failed to take any decision and the bifurcation of all institutions remained pending.

In the meantime, the TS government started setting up its own institutions and transferred their properties to the new entities, which was challenged by the AP government. The complaints lodged by the AP government with the Centre over APDDC paid off with the Centre stopping its bifurcation and restoring its original status.

“Schedule IX institutions have assets of nearly Rs 50,000 crore. Most of them have expensive properties and lands in Hyderabad. For instance, AP Civil Supplies Corporation alone owns 25 acre in Miyapur which is worth hundreds of crores,” said S. Vijaya Mohan, chairman, TS Public Sector Employees Association.

If these institutions are to be shared with AP, TS has to pay 52 per cent of the total worth of these assets. The employees are meanwhile claiming that the Sheela Bhide committee had recommended allotment of these institutions to a particular state based on their geographical location and are urging the TS government to exert pressure on the Centre to implement it.  They say while AP is proactive with hectic lobbying at the Centre, TS is confined to the role of a spectator.