A three-and-a-half-hour long Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday cleared the new state of Telangana comprising 10 districts, ending a week-long suspense over the creation of the proposed Rayala-Telangana. According to sources, the Cabinet decision on the 10 districts came after the Congress Core Group in a morning meeting cleared the CWC resolution of Telangana with 10 districts.
Home Ministry officials said the proposal of Rayala-Telangana was indeed discussed in the Group of Ministers’ meeting, but it was not mentioned in the final GoM recommendation put up before the Cabinet for approval as there was no consensus on the issue.
“Some members had floated the idea while discussing the water-sharing issue but there was no serious discussion over the inclusion of two new districts,” officials said.
Approving the recommendations of the GoM, set up to look into the issues regarding the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the creation of a successor state of Telangana, the marathon Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also approved the draft Reorganisation Bill prepared on the basis of GoM recommendations. The State Reorganisation Bill will be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday with a request to make a reference to the State Legislature to obtain its views under Article 3 of the Constitution.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar told reporters that the government wants to bring the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament but it depends on when the President returns the Bill after signing it. Shinde said Hyderabad will be common capital for Telangana and the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Bill cleared by the Union Cabinet has retained Article 371-D for both the successor states to ensure equitable opportunities for education and public employment.