Fresh controversy over institutions are brewing between Telangana and AP governments
Fresh controversy over institutions are brewing between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments
Hyderabad: Fresh controversy over institutions are brewing between Telangana and AP governments with the former now claiming exclusive authority over Tenth Schedule listed institutions located here.
Telangana government is obtaining legal opinion pertaining to institutions like the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) and the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) and is planning to declare complete authority over them.
Telangana officials opine that AP will have to create all institutions afresh. Ninth Schedule of the AP Reorganisation Act provides list of companies and corporations whose assets and liabilities are to be apportioned between the two states irrespective of their geographical location. But the Tenth Schedule contains about 50 institutions, all of which are located in Hyderabad.
According to Section 75 of the Reorganisation Act, these institutions shall “Continue to provide facilities to people of the other state which shall not, in any respect, be less favourable to such people than what were being provided to them before the appointed day, for such period and upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the two state governments.”
Senior officials say that these institutions belong to Telangana by virtue of their geographical location and AP has to pay for services or form their own institutions. “Terms and conditions are nothing but fee for services.
We have to see what the legal interpretation of this is and then we will take steps. Section 75 doesn’t say anything about bifurcation of these bodies,” a top education department official said.
With this, even institutions like APSCHE which are currently working under instructions from the AP government would be completely transferred to Telangana government while the former would be left with nothing.
Telangana is also looking to claim the BIE citing similar reasons and Andhra Pradesh would have to form its own Inter Board afresh. It is learnt that Telangana has already sought legal opinion on this issue.
High Court to examine AP’s powers:
The Hyderabad High Court will examine if AP government has exclusive jurisdiction to remove chairman and directors of a corporation that are specified in the 9th schedule of the AP Reorganisation Act.
The court, prima facie, opined that AP has no exclusive powers on any of the institutions or corporations mentioned in the list. Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy was dealing with a petition by Ghanta Murali Ramakrishna and others, chairman and directors of the AP State Irrigation Development Corporation Limited (APSIDCL), challenging their removal through a GO dated November 1, 2014 by AP government.
The petitioners submitted that as per Section-68 of the Act, the assets and liabilities of the companies and corporations shall be distributed between the states in accordance
with Section 53 of the Act.
They said that the Centre is only empowered to reconstitute the Board so as to give adequate representation to successor states. They said that APSIDCL is in serial No. 23 of the schedule.
The petitioner's plea has supported the Telangana State government statement that the assets and liabilities of APSIDCL have not been divided till now and it remains joint as on today.
It was submitted that neither of the two governments can exercise the power to remove the Board and reconstitute it. The AP government defended its action by stating that the petitioners being appointed at the will of the government must also exit at its will.
The judge found that there is no provision in the Act which authorises one of the two governments either to remove the Board or to reconstitute it and the Act empowered only the Centre to reconstitute the Board and division of shares and assets between both the states as per Section-71 of the Act.
While suspending the GO, the judge said till both the states constitute their separate corporations, the APSIDCL has to continue in its present form. The judge issued notices to the both governments and the Centre directing them to file their counter affidavits to examine the matter.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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