HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy spoke to Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu over phone on Thursday and, among other things, called for early settlement of the bifurcation issues between the two Telugu states.
Revanth Reddy congratulated Naidu over the victory of the the three-party alliance in AP and conveyed his best wishes in the run-up to the formation of the next AP ministry by Naidu on June 12.
A media statement issued by the CMO here quoted Revanth Reddy as telling Naidu, “It has been 10 years since the 2014 bifurcation. As per the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad ceased to be the joint capital of TG and AP on June 2 this year after completion of 10 years. However, several buildings in Hyderabad continue to be under the possession of the AP government. We need to discuss and solve such matters on a priority basis.”
Official sources said Revanth Reddy requested Naidu, in specific, to hand over the buildings in Hyderabad to the Telangana government at the earliest.
Several issues such as division of assets of common institutions listed under Schedule IX and X of the Reorganisation Act, mostly located in Hyderabad, the power bill dues etc remain unresolved between TS and AP.
The BRS government, which ruled Telangana for 10 years, had adopted a confrontational attitude towards AP AP government and with the BJP-led government at the Centre. Due to this, several bifurcation-related issues remained unresolved.
The Congress government led by Revanth Reddy has stressed that it wants to maintain cordial relations with the AP government and the Centre to facilitate early resolution of the bifurcation-related issues.
According to the AP Reorganisation Act, 89 government corporations are listed in the Ninth Schedule. They include state-run companies and corporations like the AP State Seeds Development Corporation, AP State Agro Industrial Development Corporation and AP State Warehousing Corporation.
The 10th Schedule of the Act includes 107 training institutions/centres like the AP State Co-operative Union, the Environment Protection Training and Research Institute, the AP Forest Academy, the Centre for Good Governance and the AP Police Academy.
Though an expert committee headed by retired IAS officer Sheela Bhide gave its recommendations on the bifurcation of the Schedule IX and X institutions, the matter remained unresolved due to disputes between the two states’ governments.
TS and AP are also been caught in a row over payment of dues vis-a-vis supply of power after the 2014 bifurcation. Transfer of employees is one issue awaiting a final resolution.
The Telangana employees unions are urging the state government to bring back the leftover 144 Telangana employees allotted to AP during state bifurcation and are working in AP since 2014.
There also exists a dispute between the two states over assets of the state-run RTC. The AP government sought a share in the assets of the corporation located in Hyderabad. The Telangana government disagreed with this. The government here argues that these assets belong to it as per the definition of 'headquarters' given by the Sheela Bhide panel.
Chief minister Revanth Reddy had advised TS officials to amicably settle the pending bifurcation issues with AP. He had told the officials to resolve the issues where there is reconciliation between the two states and to act in ways as to protect the interests of Telangana vis-a-vis the other pending matters.
