Telangana bill to be tabled in winter session: Shinde

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said the bill for creation of the new State of Telangana, bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament starting on December 5, 2013.

“The Telangana bill will be tabled in the winter session,” Mr. Shinde told reporters in New Delhi, indicating that the process for creating the new State is being expedited.

Sources said following an instruction of the Congress high command, the Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has held a series of meetings with different stake holders, including eight political parties in the last seven days.

The GoM will hear the views of the Union Ministers from Andhra Pradesh on November 18, 2013 and Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is said to be strongly opposed to the division of the State, the next day.

Meanwhile, sources said, Mr. Shinde, who heads the GoM, instructed Home Ministry officials to start ground work for preparing the note to be submitted before the Union Cabinet in the next fortnight.

The officials have started compiling the reports of different Ministries which gave their opinion on distribution of assets and other issues between the new state and the residuary state Andhra Pradesh.

Once the Cabinet clears the proposal, it will go to the President who in turn refer it to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for approval. However, the Assembly resolution is not binding under the Constitution.

Government will then prepare the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill and with the Union Cabinet’s approval will send it to the President before being tabled in Parliament.

The winter session of Parliament will commence on December 5, 2013 and will continue till December 20, 2013.

The GoM had detailed discussions over sharing of river water, power, distribution of assets and demarcating of boundaries in its recent meetings.

The high-powered Ministerial panel is also looking into the legal and administrative measures required to ensure that both Telangana and the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh can function efficiently from Hyderabad as the common capital for 10 years.

After its first meeting on October 11, 2013 the GoM had said it would address all concerns of the people of Andhra Pradesh with “fairness and objectivity”.

The GoM has already discussed the approach and methodology to be adopted by it and said it would take the opinions of stakeholders on all important subjects while formulating its recommendations.