Hyderabad: To broker peace between Telangana and AP governments over claiming ownership of the institutions listed in the 10th Schedule of the AP Bifurcation Act, the central government has reportedly decided to intervene and appoint various task force committees for smooth transactions of the institutions. Union home minister Rajnath Singh and home secretary L.C. Goel on Friday conveyed the decision to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan in Delhi.
The AP government has petitioned to the Centre for immediate intervention to do justice to it as the Telangana government has been claiming ownership of all institutions located in Telangana quoting provisions of the Act. The issue of claims and counter claims by the two governments have escalated tensions in Hyderabad, particularly over distribution of employees as well as the assets of various public institutions.
It is also learnt that the Centre has decided to extend the “one year” clause that lapsed on July 2 this year by a few more months. The Bifurcation Act was so rigid that in case the Telangana and AP governments were unable to reach an agreement over division of the 100-plus Institutions within a year from the appointed day (June 2, 2014), the central government could intervene in the matter.
According to sources in the Union Home Ministry, the Governor of TS and AP has been informed about the Centre's decision to intervene in the matter and appoint task force committees comprising officials of both states and may extend the one year’s time, which expired on June 2, 2015, by a few months. It is expected that the Union home ministry will soon issue a gazette notification on the extension of time, sources claimed.
However when contacted, Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma told DC that TS, under any circumstances, would not agree to any joint management boards to manage the affairs of the various institutions located in Telangana. “We cannot agree to such things which are not in the Act, we will accept Centre’s intervention only if it fits in the Bifurcation Act; since the one year deadline has lapsed, we will go ahead with our claims over all institutions that are located in TS as per the provisions of the Act,” he said.
