The Andhra Pradesh (AP) Governor ESL Narasimhan on 1 May asked the State officials, including the State Chief Secretary Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, to complete the division process of the State into Telangana and Seemandhra at the earliest.
April-end had been set as the deadline for completion of the required process for the state's bifurcation, after which President Pranab Mukherjee also announced 2 June as the foundation day for Telangana state.
Hyderabad will remain a joint capital for both the new states for ten years, after which Seemandhra will function from a new capital, which is yet to be decided by the Centre.
Narasimhan held a high-level meeting with Mohanty, Advisor to the Governor Salauddin Ahmed and other officials who are entrusted with the task of division process. It is said that the Governor asked the officials to explain the cause of delay in completing the background work required for AP's bifurcation.
Narasimhan reportedly told the officials to complete the division process by the time the ongoing general and the Assembly elections are over in the state. He also asked the officials to put in extra hours if required, so that the formalities are completed at the earliest.
Mohanty said that allocation of separate secretariats to Telangana and Seemandhra (residual Andhra Pradesh), legislature assemblies, councils and offices for the states' departmental heads have been completed so far and allotment of government vehicles was underway. He added that distribution of State employees will come to an end by 15 May.
Two bungalows or government accommodation in Kundabagh in Hyderabad have been allotted to chief secretaries of the two new states, Mohanty said.
In another meeting, Narasimhan told officials of the State's Energy Department, to take all measures to put an end to power cuts in the state. He has ordered the supply of uninterrupted power for domestic use as well as industrial purposes.
Meanwhile, the Shivaramakrishnan-headed committee, entrusted with the study to select a suitable region or city for new Seemandhra capital, is scheduled to meet in Delhi's AP Bhavan on 2 May.
In another development, the Union Cabinet has appointed Polavaram Project Authority to take up the national irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh, where polls to Lok Sabha and Assembly are to be held on 7 May. The Centre is set to issue official orders on the project once the election is completed in the State.
On the election front, Congress president Sonia Gandhi was scheduled to address an election rally in Guntur on Friday, as the election in Seemandhra will be held on 7 May. Telugu Desam President Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena founder and actor Pawan Kalyan and Union Minister and Congress leader K Chiranjeevi will also canvass for their respective parties in coastal Andhra Pradesh on the same day.
YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is said to be working on the party's blueprint for Seemandhra's new capital.
[ED:VS]
