In a first step to resolve the decade long pending bifurcation issues after the separation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, the Chief Ministers of Telugu States met on Saturday evening in Hyderabad and chalked out the strategies and roadmap to find some headway. The initiative came to the fore when AP CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu invited his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy for a parley to amicably discuss the post-bifurcation issues. Reddy immediately accepted the proposal and the meeting materialized within a week.
The high-profile meeting between the two CMs lasted for nearly two hours. They were accompanied by three ministers each from both cabinets along with chief secretaries and some key officers. Before the meeting, Naidu received a warm welcome by the Telangana contingent. Revanth Reddy presented ‘Naa Godava’ book to Naidu and the duo exchanged some pleasantries before moving into the discussion on the main agenda.
Sources revealed that both CMs vowed to address the issues by setting up committees led by ministers and officers separately and discuss about the roadmap to settle them. They took a call that CMs would intervene only if the issues are not resolved at the lower level. The discussion primarily focussed on the apportionment of assets and liabilities of different institutions listed under Schedule IX and X as also those that did not find mention in the Reorganisation Act.
Further, both CMs mutually agreed to write to the Centre for the re-merger of five villages, that were handed over to Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation, back with Telangana. Sources said the Telangana government refused more time to the AP government to vacate buildings allocated to it in Hyderabad. The Telangana government explained about their all-out war against narcotics and drugs so as to protect the future generations and sought the cooperation of Andhra Pradesh government.
The Chief Ministers also identified areas of cooperation and working together. The two states agreed to secure all their rights from the Centre that were promised in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
