Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is firm about ensuring that a resolution is passed in the state Assembly and Council against the creation of Telangana state, when the session recommences from January 3, 2014.
There is speculation he may quit his post once the Legislature session closes by January 23, after the Telangana debate.
Kiran for voting on T Bill soon
Sources close to Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy say that before he resigns he wants to ensure that a symbolic resolution is passed seeking the Centre’s intervention to keep the state united. This will make it clear to the nation that the Centre is proceeding with the formation of Telangana state much against the majority wish of the elected representatives of the state.
After returning from Delhi, the Chief Minister contacted some of his confidants and instructed them to move such a resolution in accordance with the rules. He also told them to move as many amendments as they could to the various clauses in the Telangana Bill, and insist on voting so that it will be proved that a majority of the members are opposing various provisions.
The Chief Minister has reportedly been advised by legal pundits that if some amendments are moved and an appropriate resolution against Telangana is passed, these will be useful as evidences should the matter reach the higher courts.
The Chief Minister reportedly cited one such resolution by the Bihar Assembly against the formation of Vananchal State (Jharkhand) proposed by the then United Front government, in 1998. It was agreed to by the Bihar Assembly later only after arriving at a consensus among all political parties. But, still, several amendments were proposed and voting took place on each clause in the Re-Organisation Bill sent to both Bihar and UP by the President.
The Chief Minister also reportedly remarked that when he earlier said that voting has to take place on various clauses of the Bill, several leaders took it lightly and even ridiculed his claim, but now it is established that even during Speaker Nadendla Manohar’s visit to Patna and Lucknow, those states had also moved amendments and decided on voting.
One thing is very clear from the Chief Minister’s latest move: the forthcoming Assembly session is going to be a stormy one.
Pro-Telangana legislators will place every obstacle in the way of Seema-andhra legislators moving a resolution to the draft bill. They will insist that any amendment must be moved and voted on only in Parliament, and whatever amendments are passed in the State Legislature will not have any standing.
After keeping mum for sometime, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has once again raised voice against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to form a separate Telangana. He cautioned millions of farmers in Seemandhra and Telangana regions of the serious consequences of division of the state.
According to him, the bifurcation was done without addressing key issues of water, power and infrastructure, which could lead to deficit and bigger problems. He fears the lapses in water distribution would erupt.In Andhra Pradesh, the dams located in one region serve the needs of other region. For example, Srisailam dam is located in Rayalaseema, but it serves the irrigation needs of Rayalaseema, Telangana and Andhra regions. So, Kiran is worried as how can that waters be shared. Telangana comprises 68 pc of the catchment area of the Krishna river and 79 pc catchment area of Godavari river. Utilising these resources for the development of the region will be a big challenge for the state.Andhra Pradesh's major rivers include Godavari, Krishna and Pennar. According to the Krishna tribunal award, Maharashtra gets 560 tmc feet of water, Karnataka 700 TMC and Andhra Pradesh 811 TMC. The Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar dams are central to the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh. (1 TMC equals 28.3 billion litres).The Nagarjunasagar dam is right on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and caters to the irrigation needs of Andhra and Telangana. Kiran feels the new state would badly hit irrigation projects.Godavari is less exploited as compared with Krishna and most of the water flows into the Bay of Bengal. The Godavari Waters Disputes Tribunal in 1975 awarded 1,480 TMC to Andhra Pradesh, but proponents of separate Telangana are demanding more than 60 pc of that water share.As for agriculture is concerned, Seemandhra regions are better irrigated and account for 60 pc of total crops cultivated in Andhra Pradesh. Telangana has over 65 pc agriculture pumpsets. But with Telangana expected to face at least 40-50 pc power shortage, the irrigation projects will be affected.Currently in Andhra Pradesh, the power generation is only 57 million units per day against a demand of 115 MU. Though Telangana boasts of major coal deposits, Seemandhra has more gas-based stations with higher installed capacity of power. The Ramagundam thermal power station is in Telangana but is controlled by the Centre.Kiran accused TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao of misleading farmers with a promise to bring 10,000 MW from Chhattisgarh since the installed capacity of the neighbouring state was only 6300 MW.Before bifurcating the state, the Centre, Kiran feels, must have clarity on the status of Hyderabad, which several people from Seemandhra made their home after the formation of AP decades ago.Even as APNGO members are protesting against shifting of the secretariat employees to Seemandhra, Kiran rejected the TRS statistics and said out of 18,856 employees identified as non-locals under GO 610, 9,174 were repatriated and 4,062 were exempted as per the rules.As the capital of united AP for nearly 60 years, Hyderabad city has witnessed enormous growth and transformed into a large metropolis. In the process, many other regions of the State have been neglected. People from Andhra and Rayalaseema are heavily dependent on Hyderabad for health facilities, education and employment opportunities.
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