GoM recommends creation of Telangana, cabinet to discuss tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet will tomorrow discuss the report on Telangana and the draft bill to create the new state as the GoM completed its work tonight and is believed to have recommended merger of two districts of Rayalseema with the proposed state.

Emerging from an hour-long meeting, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters that the GoM has "completed the process and the Cabinet will discuss the recommendations tomorrow".

Sources said the GoM is understood to have recommended merger of the two districts of Rayalseema--Kurnool and Anantpur--with proposed Telangana despite strong opposition from Telangana Rashtra Samiti and some Congress leaders. Both Kurnool and Anantpur have proximity to Hyderabad and have a sizeable Muslim population.

However, a final decision will be taken by the Union Cabinet tomorrow.

If the proposal is accepted, undivided Andhra Pradesh would be divided equally and the two states would get 21 Lok Sabha seats each, 147 seats each in the assembly and 45 seats in the legislative council.

The GoM fine-tuned issues related to distribution of assets, sharing of water, demarcation of boundaries and divisions of officers' cadre.

The GoM is believed to have recommended providing special status to both the states under Article 371-D of the Constitution.

The issue of Hyderabad continues to be contentious as Seemandhra leaders are demanding protection of lives and property of Seemandhra people settled in Hyderabad after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

One of the options is handing over law and order responsibility and revenue department to the central government under a special provision of the Constitution.

The GoM meeting, chaired by Shinde, was attended by Union Ministers A K Antony, P Chidambaram and M Verappa Moily among others.
The GoM is said to have recommend that the draft Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill should be named as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Bill, thus avoiding an amendment in the Constitution but allowing both the states to enjoy special status, official sources said.

Article 371-D, which was inserted through 32nd Amendment in 1973, empowers the President to issue orders from time to time providing for equitable opportunities for people belonging to different parts of the state.

This provision, which has overriding effect on other Articles of the Constitution, was brought in following an agreement on a six-point formula between leaders of the state on September 21, 1973.

This formula was aimed at a uniform approach for "accelerated development of the backward areas" of Andhra Pradesh and to provide "equitable opportunities" to different areas of the state in the matter of education and employment in public services.

Even though Shinde has declared that the draft Telangana bill would be introduced in the winter session of Parliament, uncertainly prevails as the job of giving a timeframe to Andhra Pradesh assembly to consider the Bill rests with the President.

It is the prerogative of the President to give time to the state assembly - minimum 10 days - to return the Bill to the Centre. However, the assembly resolution is not binding under the Constitution.

Sources said the then united Madhya Pradesh Assembly was given 40 days by the then President to consider the state bifurcation bill when Chhattisgarh was carved out.

If the President gives more than 15 days to the state assembly to consider the proposal, the Centre will not be in a position to table the bifurcation bill in the winter session of parliament which comes to an end on December 20.

Sources said that in that case, the possibility of extending the winter session or convening a special session of Parliament cannot be ruled out.

The GoM had held a series of meetings with leaders of eight political parties, union ministers from Andhra Pradesh and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and officials in the past one month.

During these meetings, opinion has been given on distribution of assets and other issues between the proposed new state and the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.