Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Meet to Resolve Pending Issues

After almost 10 years, Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh met in Hyderabad on Saturday to discuss and resolve issues pending between the two states since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and his Andhra counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu met in the evening at Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan in Begumpet. Reddy was accompanied by his deputy, Bhatti Vikramarka, and senior ministers D Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar. Accompanying Naidy were ministers K Durgesh, Satya Kumar Yadav and B C Janardhan.

Both were accompanied by their respective Chief Secretaries and other IAS officers, who made powerpoint presentations on their demands and expectations from each other. Sources in the Telangana CMO said the meeting was to break the ice between the two states. Both sides informed each other what they would like to discuss, and presented a roadmap on how that can be achieved. They also discussed issues where the Centre's intervention is required, like division of water of Godavari and Krishna rivers. The discussion was mainly about setting up a platform and a channel for both governments to discuss issues without acrimony, an official said, adding, 'This meeting is to initiate the process of long discussions and negotiations.' According to officials present at the meeting, the two chief ministers met as old friends, hugging each other before they sat down on the negotiating table.

'Be it Telanagna or Andhra Pradesh, if one state agrees to concede on any issue, there would be immediate criticism that the state's interest has been ignored. This is the reason Jagan (former Andhra CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy) and KCR (former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao) could not take their talks forward. The resolution to issues - sharing of assets and properties and cash - would mean letting go of some things, and that could be seen as a sellout by people and critics in both states,' an official said. Naidu, in his first term from 2014 to 2019, and KCR, while in power from 2014 to 2023, were unable to hold any meetings to resolve the issues, and were considered hostile to each other. When Jagan stormed to power in 2019, KCR welcomed him, and several meetings were held between officials of the two states, but the deadlock continued as neither refused to cede any ground.

When Naidu's TDP-led NDA secured a landslide win in the recent elections, Revanth, in a phone call while congratulating him, extended the hand of friendship and said the two states should resolve pending matters related to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 in a friendly atmosphere. Naidu responded positively, and wrote a letter to Revanth on July 2, suggesting a meeting at Hyderabad on July 6. At least 14 issues are pending between the two states, including clearing power dues that both states owe to each other, bifurcation of 91 institutions, and division of cash balance and bank deposits. The effective division of cash and assets would unlock funds that both states need for welfare schemes. The association between Revanth and Naidu goes a long way back.

Revanth was with the TDP for several years and was elected twice on the party ticket from Kodangal - in 2009 and 2014. He was considered close to Naidu before he quit in October 2017 and joined the Congress. In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express Kishan opens up about why he decided to take a break, the reason for not playing for his state when he was on a break, the support he received from his family when nobody took the effort to understand his state of mind and why it is heartening to see his India teammates win the T20 World Cup. Hyderabad: In their first-ever meeting, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N.

Chandrababu Naidu set the roadmap to identify, discuss and resolve pending bifurcation issues between the two states. Instead of getting into details of pending issues in their meeting at Praja Bhavan here, the two decided to constitute committees at the Chief Secretary and ministers' levels separately to discuss and resolve the issues. Problems that defied solution would be dealt with by the Chief Ministers. Sources later said that the two states would write to the Centre for the remerger of five villages, that were handed over to Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation, back with Telangana. Sources said the Telangana government refused more time to the AP government to vacate buildings allocated to it in Hyderabad.

The Telangana government explained about their all-out war against narcotics and drugs so as to protect the future generations and sought the cooperation of Andhra Pradesh government. The Chief Ministers also identified areas of cooperation and working together. The two states agreed to secure all their rights from the Centre that were promised in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. The meeting between AP and TG delegations was held for about one-and-a-half hour. The AP delegation led by Naidu and comprised ministers Anagani Satya Prasad, B.C.

Janardhan Reddy and Kandula Durgesh, Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad and senior officials. The Telangana delegation led by Revanth Reddy comprised Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers D. Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari and senior officials. According to the agreement reached between them, two committees will be set up to resolve pending issues.

The first one will be a three-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary of the respective state and will comprise senior IAS officers. The first meeting of these committees will be held in the next two weeks. They will meet every fortnight and resolve the pending issues at their level. Issues that could not be resolved at their level would be referred to the ministers' committees of their respective states, which will try to resolve the issues through talks. For issues that could not be resolved at the two levels, the Chief Ministers would try to resolve them.

Revanth Reddy presented a book 'Naa Godava', which is a collection of poems by Telangana Prajakavi Kaloji Narayan Rao. The book delved into the injustices meted out to Telangana region and also the sufferings during the Nizam regime, which also reflects Revanth Reddy's deep-rooted philosophy and commitment to protect the interests of Telangana and its people. Briefing the media about the decisions taken in the CMs meeting, Deputy CM Bhatti said 'We have decided to expedite discussions on issues that have not been resolved in the last 10 years. We do not think that all the problems in the Bifurcation Act can be solved in the first meeting.' He emphasised the need for a structured approach to tackle these issues in the coming days. He highlighted the importance of cooperation between the two states on issues affecting the everyday lives of the people.

'We have decided to work together on the issues that the people of the two states are struggling with,' he said. Acknowledging the rise in cybercrimes and its impact on the common people, Bhatti and AP minister Satya Prasad stressed on the need for a coordinated effort to tackle the problem. 'It has been decided that the two states should work in coordination and control cybercrimes and the drug menace,' they stated. A committee will be formed at the additional DG level in both states to address these challenges collaboratively, they said. They said that the first meeting between both the two Chief Ministers reflects a