Hyderabad: Who will share revenue & losses?

Hyderabad is not lost by Seemandhra, as it never belonged to it. It goes to those who own it, i.e., people of Telangana who laid down their lives for it and fought the biased government and hostile police from Seemandhra

After realizing that they cannot own Hyderabad, Seemandhra leaders are raising an illegitimate demand for a share in revenue, saying that they invested heavily in Hyderabad. Statistics reveal that they are just a handful of capitalists from Seemandhra and their share in investments in Hyderabad is not more than 25%. According to the Srikrishna Committee Report, the investment by private persons of AP is Rs 540 crore, non-AP persons Rs 665 crore and the Government Rs 442 cr. See the following table.

Among the announced industries and enterprises, the share of non-AP persons is estimated to be Rs. 4448 crore and AP industrialists’ share is Rs 1925 cr, which means just 25%. The AP category means predominantly Seemandhra people; it does not mean they alone. With just 25% investments they have the audacity to claim that Hyderabad belongs to them, ignoring the fact that 75% coming from out of AP. Carving out Telangana with Hyderabad as its capital will not alter the prospects of these industrialists, whether from AP or not.

Even among the completed projects, just 25% belong to investors from AP while 40% investments are from non-AP people; 20% from Government and 14% from the Centre. Among projects under implementation, one-third is invested in by AP people, another one-third by non-AP investors. While 14% are proposed to be invested by private AP persons, 61% investments are coming from non-AP entrepreneurs.

Except those who have breached the law to own huge tracts of land, none need fear. The former needs to fear even if Hyderabad continues to be the capital of AP. If grabbers are comfortable in AP but not in Telangana, they should not be. They have no legitimate right to deprive Telangana people of their capital, Hyderabad. If these industries roll out production, they are expected to pay tax.

No economic principles allow Seemandhra Government to seek a share in tax income of Telangana State, based on any rate of investments earlier. If investors of 25% in the present and 14% in the proposed industries claim such a share, how do they pay a share to non-AP investors? Will they do the same by sharing tax revenue from such enterprises, with Telangana or other States? Such a demand for a share in the revenue of another State is an illegitimate expectation. Seemandhra leaders and ‘intellectuals’ are claiming a share in the revenue of Hyderabad; another illegal demand. Those who demand a share in revenue from Telangana State should also be prepared to share the liabilities, loans and losses besides paying compensation for deprivations they inflicted.

Natural justice will not allow sharing of assets alone in any partition without sharing of liabilities and losses. Some gentlemen proposed compensation by Telangana for loss of Andhras leaving Hyderabad. Chiranjeevi asked for permanent UT status for Hyderabad. Chandrababu demanded a Rs. 5-lakh-crore package as compensation for leaving Hyderabad, while Yalamanchili Shivaji said that Telangana should bear the entire loan of Rs 1.6 lakh crore in lieu of Hyderabad.

Only losses are compensated, generally. Where did they suffer loss and because of whom? Will they compensate the loss sustained by Telangana due to diversion and exploitation of resources, revenue, river waters, employment in Government offices, for over decades? How do they assess and pay it? Exploited Telangana has a right, but not Seemandhra, for compensation.

Hyderabad is not lost by Seemandhra, as it never belonged to it. It goes to those who own it, i.e., people of Telangana who laid down their lives for it and fought the biased government and hostile police from Seemandhra. They did not suffer any loss to ask for compensation.

Compensation should be reciprocal; the losses suffered by Telangana over 57 years through illegal diversion of river waters, rich minerals, power, coal and deprivation of employment to local Telanganites also should be compensated. The losses and deprivations of Telangana at the hands of Seemandhra leaders are innumerable. The writer is Professor & Coordinator, Center for Media Law & Public Policy, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad