HYDERABAD: Seeking financial assistance from the Centre to revive and complete the Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation schemes, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka also urged the Union government to settle the long-pending bifurcation issues between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Vikramarka, who attended the 31st Southern Zonal Council meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, said that Telangana was pursuing the rehabilitation of the Kaleshwaram barrages and taking steps to revive the Pranahita-Chevella project at Tummidihatti. For PRLIS, he sought Central assistance to complete the remaining works and make the project fully operational.
Asserting that Telangana was not seeking any special privilege but only its fair share of Krishna waters through established legal mechanisms, he sought protection against unilateral actions that could affect the rights of states downstream and stressed that established adjudicatory mechanisms should be respected, with the same principles applied to all riparian states.
He reiterated Telangana’s lower-riparian rights over surplus waters.
Schedule-9 issues should be settled within statutory framework: Bhatti
Vikramarka recalled that several matters between Telangana and AP remained pending even 12 years after the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA-2014) came into force. He stressed that settling them should not mean “endless correspondence or fresh interpretations every few years”.
One such matter concerns the division of 23 Schedule-9 institutions, he said. Calling for an early settlement within the statutory framework, Vikramarka said, “Telangana has already submitted its views concerning 23 Schedule-9 institutions to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Telangana expressed its willingness to settle the matter in accordance with the APRA-2014 and based on the approach suggested by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Home Minister.”
He added that the state government believed an early settlement was desirable, but must remain within the statutory framework.
The division of assets of Schedule-10 institutions also remains another point of contention. Vikramarka said Andhra Pradesh had sought division of assets of certain institutions, while Telangana maintained that such claims were not supported by the APRA, except for the continuation of facilities under Section 75.
The matter is also pending before the AP High Court, he said, adding that Telangana wanted it settled through the legal process and in accordance with the Act.
Vikramarka also proposed Hyderabad as the venue for the 32nd Southern Zonal Council meeting.
