Srikrishna panel determined to find solution by year-end

NEW DELHI: Unfazed by the protests over its the terms of reference, the Srikrishna panel has already drawn up a time-table for its deliberations that will go well beyond politics of the Telengana issue and enlist co-operation of all sections of the people to arrive at a widely-acceptable solution.

The panel will invite memoranda and charters from all interested individuals and groups on the demands both for a separate Telangana and for a united Andhra. Even as the interested parties approach the panel, the members will collate research and background material on history, politics, culture, legal issues, administration, besides social and economic indicators relating to Andhra, Telangana and Rayalseema regions.

The members of the panel have already divided this massive job between themselves: While member secretary V K Duggal and vice-chancellor of National Law University Ranbir Singh will look at research material on historical, political, administrative and constitutional aspects; sociologist Ravinder Kaur and Mr Abusaleh Shariff, senior research fellow at International Food Policy Research Institute will study the sociological and cultural background.

It is only after the panel has armed itself with documented assessments and data on the issues being raised by representatives from various regions, culled out their common grievances cited in the memoranda and prepared their responses will it start the actual consultations and deliberations. But the panel is likely to visit Hyderabad soon to help members acquaint themselves with the region, talk to the people and assess the mood on the ground.

With a limited timeframe of 10 months to complete its task, the Srikrishna panel has already set timelines for various stages of its deliberations. While the next one month will be spent in collating material and receiving memorandums from all sections of opinion, during which the panel will also cull out the common issues and grievances and firm up their responses, the consultations with political parties and other interested groups will begin in the right earnest towards end-March or early-April and stretch through May and June.

During this period, the panel will travel frequently to Hyderabad, and, if need be, to other regions of Andhra Pradesh as well, to meet the interested groups and give them a patient hearing.

Once the discussion stage is over, the Commission will hold its own in-house deliberations to zero in on the issues that need to be addressed. The focus, said sources, would be to carry out its mandate of providing an “honest and impartial solution” to the Andhra situation. The in-house meetings may not be over before September, leaving the panel the remaining three months to finalise its recommendations and prepare its report.