TELANGANA ISSUE

The Union Cabinet on December 5 approved a Bill for creation of a Telangana State with 10 districts, paving the way for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to give birth to the country’s 29 State. Some of the highlights of the Bill are

1. Telangana will have 10 districts and the rest of Andhra Pradesh will have 13 districts

2. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area will remain the common capital for both states for a period not exceeding 10 years

3. An expert committee will identify an alternative capital for Telangana within 45 days of gazette notification. 

4. The Governor of Telangana will have a special responsibility for security of life, liberty and property of all those who reside in the common capital area.

5. Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council will have 50 seats, Telangana will have 40. 

6. There will be seven Rajya Sabha seats from Telangana and 11 from Andhra Pradesh. 

7. There will be 17 Lok Sabha MPs from Telangana and 25 from Andhra Pradesh.

8. Telangana will have 119 assembly seats and Andhra Pradesh 175.

As soon as the news about the Centre’s decision regarding the formation of Telangana broke, all the 10 districts that are supposed to constitute the new State erupted in joy. But the Telangana Rashtra Samithi camp did not express as much joy as it could have due to the fact that Hyderabad was decided to be the shared capital for 10 years. 

It could lead to unrest and long concerted agitations in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam and West Bengal, where people have been demanding the formation of new States, i.e. Harit Pradesh or Paschim Pradesh and Bundelkhand; Vidarbha; Bodoland; the Gorkhaland, respectively. Significantly, the Home Ministry has already received a resolution passed by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly for division of the State into four parts– Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh. The other such demands raised in the recent past include Saurashtra in Gujarat, Coorg in Karnataka, Koshalanchal in Odisha, and Mithilanchal in north Bihar. Several seasoned leaders have expressed their opposition to the recent decision, as it would give birth to a dangerous trend and lead to the fragmentation of India. 

03:11 - By Unknown 0