‘Budelkhand-type package for Seemandhra in T Bill’

New Delhi: After conceding the major demand of the people of Telangana for separate statehood, the Centre is now addressing concerns of the people of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh by coming up with a package for Seemandhra region, which will be part of the State Reorganisation Bill.

The Bill is likely to be referred to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly for its comments before December 12 when it is scheduled to meet. There will be two public debates on Telangana Bill. While one will be in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, the other will be in Parliament. Changes suggested by Andhra Pradesh Assembly, if accepted, will be incorporated in the Bill, before it is brought to Parliament.

If changes mooted in Parliament are accepted, then the government can move official amendments to incorporate the same. The government wants the acrimony on division of the State to be brought down and focus brought on the issues at stake. Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who played a key role in the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana, has made it clear that the package for the Seemandhra region has been made part of the Telangana Bill.

“This shows the sincerity of the government and that it means business,” he said. The government is keen to instill a sense of confidence in the people of Seemandhra that their interests will be protected and safeguarded. Describing some of the recent statements of some political parties as highly provocative, Jairam Ramesh said it had created an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear.

He emphasised on the need to bring down the temperatures, as otherwise the process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh would be a painful process. As Rayalaseema is backward, Jairam Ramesh said he had recommended Bundelkhand-type or Kalahandi-Bolagir-Koraput (KBK) type package for the region, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. On Rayala-Telangana, he said there was intensive debate for four days.

The advantage was that water problems would be solved, but politically it had disadvantages. Finally it was decided to go by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) Resolution of July 30 and the Union Cabinet decision of October 3. The request to make Bhadrachalam part of East Godavari was considered but it was decided not to reopen the issue of redrawing borders.

Jairam Ramesh said IIT, IIM, IIIT, Central University, Agriculture University, Tribal University and other important institutions would be set up in the Seemandhra region. A refinery would also be set up. Existing airports in Tirupati, Vishakhapatnam and Vijayawada will be upgraded. Governor for both states will be common for 10 years. Telangana Governor will be assisted by two Advisors in law and order and internal security.

Both states will have Grey Hounds and Octopus and as and when required the Centre will provide for additional battalions of security forces. On water issues, he said, 50 hours of discussion took place. A two-tier mechanism was mooted. One is the Apex Council with both the Chief Ministers and the other being the Krishna River Board and Godavari River Board, which will look after the day-to-day management.

The GoM has recommended that the term and the terms of reference of Brijesh Kumar Tribunal should be extended, so as to enable it to make project-wise allocation of water for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, Brijesh Kumar Tribunal had delivered the final award for the undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The debate presently was only about the surplus waters, he said. The Polavarm Project will not only be taken over by the Centre as National Project but it will be executed by the Centre, as the Centre had built Bhakhra and Hirakud Dams. Jairam Ramesh admitted that as Environment and Forests Minister, he had issued orders to halt the works on Polavaram Project, as he took seriously the objections seriously, as 25,000 tribal families in Malkangiri in Odisha and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh would be displaced by submersions.

Notwithstanding his personal reservations, he said the Centre would execute the Polavaram Project, although he did not rule out change in its design, as demanded by Telangana leaders and Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo. Rejecting the charge that bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was dealt with by people not even remotely connected with Andhra Pradesh, Jairam Ramesh said there was no truth in it.

The GoM was headed by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who was a former Andhra Pradesh Governor. The GoM had several members, who were Congress in-charge of Andhra Pradesh in the past like Ghulam Nabi Azad, M Veerappa Moily, A K Antony and V Narayanasami.

Jairam Ramesh is himself a sitting MP from Andhra Pradesh for the last nine years. Besides, the GoM had a sharp and incisive legal brain in Finance Minister P Chidambaram. The distinction of this GoM on Telangana was that the Telangana Bill was drafted by it and not by the Law Ministry.