Hyderabad: Ten years have passed since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, yet several issues remain unresolved between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. These issues include the division of assets and power bill dues, even as Hyderabad ceases to be the common capital from June 2.
According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, Hyderabad will belong solely to Telangana. However, the division of various institutions and corporations listed in Schedules 9 and 10 of the Act has not been completed due to a lack of consensus.
The Act lists 89 government companies and corporations in the Ninth Schedule, including entities like the Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Development Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh State Agro Industrial Development Corporation, and the Andhra Pradesh State Warehousing Corporation. The Tenth Schedule includes 107 training institutions and centers such as the AP State Co-operative Union, the Environment Protection Training and Research Institute, the AP Forest Academy, the Centre for Good Governance, and the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy.
Although an expert committee headed by retired bureaucrat Sheela Bhide provided recommendations on bifurcating these institutions, the matter remains unresolved. Additionally, the two states are embroiled in a dispute over payment of dues for power supplied post-bifurcation, and the transfer of employees remains an issue awaiting resolution.
The Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers’ Union Central – Hyderabad president, M Jagadeeshwar, mentioned that they submitted a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on May 18, urging the government to bring back 144 Telangana employees allotted to AP during the bifurcation. These employees have been working in AP since 2014.
Another contentious issue is the division of assets of the state-run Road Transport Corporation. A senior official from the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) stated that Andhra Pradesh sought a share in the corporation’s assets located in Hyderabad, a claim TSRTC disputes. TSRTC asserts that these assets belong to it based on the definition of ‘headquarters’ by the Sheela Bhide panel.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has instructed officials to amicably settle the pending transfer and repatriation of employees to Andhra Pradesh and to protect Telangana’s interests in other unresolved matters. The Telangana government planned a state cabinet meeting on May 18 to discuss these and other related issues, but it was postponed due to the Election Commission’s model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.
Telangana was established on June 2, 2014, following the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in Parliament in February 2014. Hyderabad served as the common capital for both states for ten years starting June 2, 2014, but will become the sole capital of Telangana on June 2, 2024. Despite this, the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat and most of the state administration moved to Amaravati in 2016 under the then-Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who aimed to develop a world-class capital in Amaravati.
At a review meeting on May 15, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy instructed officials to take over buildings like the Lake View government guest house in Hyderabad, allocated to Andhra Pradesh for ten years, after June 2. The dispute over Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi was resolved in March this year, with the Centre allocating land to both states following a meeting with senior officials from both states in the National Capital.
