Hyderabad: Political compulsions and equations are all set to decide new districts in TS rather than the scientific study carried out by the official committee on this issue.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on April 12 announced setting up of 14 or 15 new districts in TS and said they will come into being either from August 15 or Dasara. All the new districts promised by Mr Rao, as TRS chief while leading the Telangana statehood agitation figure in the list of proposed districts giving.
This indicates that the new districts would be carved to suit the political needs and compulsions of the ruling TRS and to weaken the Opposition parties, wherever they are strong.
Interestingly, the Chief Minister even announced reorganisation of existing revenue divisions and mandals, which are likely to change the boundaries of existing Parliament and Assembly constituencies, once the Election Commission of India takes up reorganisation of constituencies, as promised by the Centre in AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Telangana (Infographics)
If that happens, the political fate of several politicians will be affected. Sensing this, TRS leaders are rushing to the Chief Minister with requests on new districts, revenue divisions and mandals to suit their political needs on the ground that it would politically benefit the party in the 2019 elections if reorganisation of constituencies is done by the EC.
Sources said consensus over a majority of the proposed districts has already been reached since they figure in both the lists of officials committee and those promised by Mr Rao earlier.
The Chief Minister appointed a committee last September to study the population, literacy, education, infrastructure, drinking water, power, land, revenue, recognition of the place and its history, availability of land for construction of district headquarters, Assembly constituencies, revenue divisions, mandals among others in existing districts, besides the facilities available in the towns to be converted into new districts.
The committee obtained this entire data from district collectors and came out with a list, which almost matches the promises made by the Chief Minister earlier.
The CM is now in the process of giving final touches to the list of new districts and will make an announcement on June 2.
The government will soon issue a draft notification in this regard and seek suggestions/objections, if any, from all for a month. They will be examined for 15 days and a final notification will be issued by July-end. If everything goes as planned, the new districts will come into being from August 15 and if there is any delay, it would be postponed to Dasara in October.
