Draft T Bill says...

• Two separate state cadres for IAS, IPS and IFS officers
• Maintain continuity in power generation and supply, river water distribution and reservations for students

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (draft) Bill, which seeks to create a new state of Telangana, has made the population ratio as the basis for apportioning of assets and liabilities, including the public debt, between Telangana and the residual state of Andhra Pradesh.

This would apply to payment of pension to the State government employees as well. A sinking fund or a depreciation fund will be maintained by the existing State for repayment of any loan raised by it.

The State has a population of 8.41 crore people. The residual Andhra Pradesh with 13 districts accounts for 58.31 per cent of the population while Telangana with 10 districts of the region consists of the remaining 41.68 per cent, according to the 2011 Census.

The Bill, however, sought to maintain continuity in respect of generation and supply of power as well as the supply of river water post bifurcation besides ensuring the existing quota system for students in both the government and private institutions of higher learning for ten years. The present state capital, Hyderabad, would also serve as the capital for the residual Andhra Pradesh for not more than 10 years after the bifurcation.

The Bill that was tabled in the State Legislative Assembly maintained that the employees of local, district, zonal and multi-zonal cadres witch fall entirely in one of the successor states shall be deemed to be allotted to that successor state.

In regard to the serving officers belonging to All India Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Forest Service (IFS), the Centre would create two separate state cadres after allocating the officers duly taking their option between the two states.

It may be recalled that the students of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema questioned the bifurcation as they feared that with Hyderabad being the integral part of Telangana, would deny them entry into any of the premier government and private educational institutions located in and around the city. Employees hailing from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema said they would face large scale displacement if the State is divided.

According to the draft Bill, the Centre would also take steps to set up institutions of importance including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Central University each among others in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.

On the contentious issue of river waters, the Bill sought to create an apex panel with Union Water Resources minister as chairperson and the chief ministers of the two states as members to monitor the functioning of the proposed Krishna and Godavari river management boards which would be headed by Union Secretary of Water Resources.

To neutralise any adverse impact on account of the sharp imbalances in electricity generation and consumption, the Bill seeks allotment of the power of the Central generating stations in a ratio based on the actual energy consumption of the last 5 years of the relevant Discoms (distribution companies) in the respective successor states.

The successor State that has a deficit of electricity, in this case Telangana, shall have the first right of refusal for the purchase of surplus power from the residual Andhra Pradesh state. Also the existing power purchase agreements will continue for both on-going projects and projects under construction.

The public sector Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), whose operations are confined to the Telangana region, will belong to the state of Telangana (Government of India will continue to hold 49 per cent equity in SCCL) while the units of APGenco (generation companies) will be divided based on the geographical location of power plants.

The Centre will constitute an expert committee to study various alternatives regarding the new capital for the successor state of Andhra Pradesh and make suitable recommendations in a 45-day period from the date of enactment of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2013. The Centre would also provide special financial support for the creation of essential facilities in the new capital, including Raj Bhavan, High Court, state secretariat, Legislative Assembly among other things, the Bill said.

A new major port, a refinery and petrochemical complex, expansion of the existing airports in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati, a Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor in the lines of Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor are among the new projects the Centre has promised to examine for the residual Andhra Pradesh state.

Similarly, the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) would examine the feasibility of establishing an integrated steel plant while NTPC will consider setting up a 4,000 mw power project in Telangana, the Bill said.