The recent meeting between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy was fruitful in the sense that it raised hopes of finding an amicable solution to unresolved issues between the two states hanging fire for the last decade. Ever since the creation of Telangana in 2014, efforts have been made by both the States as well as the Centre to resolve problems such as division of assets and settlement of dues, but no common ground could be found on most for various reasons. The Revanth-Naidu bonhomie, though, may finally seal a deal since both have been on good terms for a long time.
As we pointed out in these columns earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, by which the state of Telangana was carved out of AP, hasn’t yet been fully implemented in letter and spirit. Major issues such as construction of the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra still persist as there are questions on the funding for relief and rehabilitation of displaced people. Similarly, the promise of establishing steel plants in both states is stuck because of Centre-state differences. Those have to be resolved with the cooperation of the Centre.
What Revanth and Naidu will have to do is clear-cut: arrive at an acceptable solution to the division of assets listed in Schedule IX and X of the AP Reorganisation Act, settling outstanding dues and adopting a give-and-take approach in river water sharing. Both CMs have decided to meet up periodically and agreed to constitute two panels, one of officials and another of ministers, to go through each and every pending problem. If followed through, this will help both sides enormously. One may wonder why it has taken a decade for both parties to tackle the bull by the horns. Reasons are mainly political and bureaucratic. The parties in power should not let political considerations come in the way of resolving inter-state disputes.
Telangana and Andhra are two separate states now and people-to-people contacts are immense. There is no animosity towards one another. In these circumstances, the best interests of the people of both states ought to be kept in mind. To treat any attempts at addressing pending issues as surrendering the interests of a state does no good to anyone. To avoid this, we suggest the governments in both states involve the opposition parties as well and solicit their views. With grace and magnanimity, both can solve most of the issues without going to courts.