Two boards to oversee water,power sectors after division -Boards Likely To Be Under Direct Supervision Of The Centre

Worried that the issues of water sharing and power supply might become a major bone of contention between Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh,the Union home ministry is eliciting opinions from senior officials to explore the creation of two independent boards under the direct supervision of the central government to jointly oversee the irrigation and electricity sectors in both the states.

According to sources,during their recent interaction with Union officials,chief secretary PK Mohanty, energy special chief secretary M Sahoo and others brought to the notice of the Centre that water release from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar is being regulated by the irrigation department and any conflict with power generation from these projects would result in a major showdown between the two new states.

Release of water from these two projects is controlled by the irrigation department. While irrigation department focuses on releasing the water depending on the need of the farmers and the crop season, the power department would want water to be released whenever there is a shortage so that more power can be generated. In united Andhra Pradesh, whenever there is a power shortage, the energy department puts in a request to the irrigation department and the latter releases the water as per the requirement of the power department. But once two states are created, there will be a major conflict over the power and water needs between Telangana and Seemandhra, said an official.

At present, based on the storage level, water from Srisailam is released on different occasions to KC Kanal, Pothireddypadu and Nagarjunsagar.The release dates are based on the crop season and the requirement of the different areas and they are standardised in the irrigation manual.

The release dates often lead to tensions in these districts and political leaders tend to exert pressure on the irrigation engineers to force the water release to their areas. Post-bifurcation,water release dates would become controversial during deficit years as every district agitates for water release overriding the later requirement of the other districts. Till now, we have boards to look after the distribution of the stored waters. But post bifurcation, we would need a joint board at Srisailam and Nagarjunsagar to supervise the distribution of surplus and flood waters as well, said sources in irrigation department.
Keeping this in mind, the Centre is mulling creation of a central board for sharing water for drinking and irrigation purposes between the two states on the lines of what is in place for Cauvery and Bhak-ranangal.A detailed note is being prepared on the creation of such central boards, the sources said.

A similar complex problem exists on the power front as well. For example, the coal for power generation at the Vijayawada and Rayalaseema thermal projects in the Seemandhra region are being supplied by the Singareni Collieries in Telangana. For the hydel projects across Andhra Pradesh, the water comes from the Telangana region. And for all gas based projects in the state,the gas is supplied from the Godavari basin. This will make the distribution of power between the two new states a complex,messy and unwieldy affair, pointed a senior official.

At present,the power distribution is being done in such a manner that it is balanced between the power deficit Telangana and surplus Seemandhra regions. Post-bifurcation, the supply has to be maintained in a way that it would safeguard the grid frequency which may not be that easy keeping in mind the conflicting demands of the two new states, the sources said.

To monitor the power supply in an effective manner to protect the southern grid, there should be a central power board with officials from the Centre and the two new states to ensure that the power supply is equally shared between Telangana and Seemandhra and also make sure that the southern grid does not trip, they said.
            
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We are committed to follow law of the land            

Hyderabad: The TRS said on Monday that its stand on all issues concerning Telangana and the state bifurcation process including the distribution of employees has been consistent and all it wants the Centre to do is to follow the existing rules. Clarifying that its president K Chandrasekhar Rao was not reigniting any repatriation row, TRS politbureau member B Vinod Kumar said in a statement on Monday that several violations have taken place over the decades and it has caused great injustice to the Telangana employees. Deviations and violations, pointed out by the officially appointed one-man commission (headed by late J M Girglani, IAS) have to be rectified while distributing the employees between the two states.All the non-officials, both gazetted and subordinate staff who are working in Telangana in violation of the presidential order of 1975 need to be repatriated to the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh based on the definition of local candidate as mentioned in the presidential order, he said. The TRS is committed to follow the law of the land as its movement is based on the Gandhian principles of nonviolence, fair play and justice, Vinod Kumar said. All we are saying is that violations of rules in the past have to be looked into before the bifurcation of the state, he added.

All we are saying is that violations of rules in the past have to be looked into before the bifurcation

Vinod Kumar | TRS LEADER


Congress ministers from Telangana meet at deputy chief minister C Damodara Rajanarasimhas residence to prepare a memorandum to be submitted to the GoM,in the city on Monday                          
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Division move pains IPS probationers               

Hyderabad: President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the Diskshant Parade of the 65 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and address the 148 trainee officers passing out of the SVP National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here on Tuesday.

Among the 148 probationers,12 officers are from Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. Also, a record 25 lady officers are in the 65batch of IPS probationers and two of them, G Chandana Deepti and N Swetha, both engineering graduates, are from Andhra Pradesh.Chandana Deepti belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Swetha is from the Karnataka cadre.

Among the probationers, eight officers, including K Sasi Kumar,Vijay Kumar SM, Kalmeshwar Shingenavar, Varun BR, Siddharth Kaushal, Bhaaskran R, G Chandana Deepti and Anburajan KKN, have been allotted to the AP cadre. Chandana, a computer science graduate from IIT Delhi, comple-ted her schooling from Chittoor town. After graduating from IIT, Chandana appeared for the Civil Services exam and secured 551 rank. Like everyone in the state, including police officers, the young trainee officer has been closely following the state bifurcation issue and said that she was not really happy with the division.

None of the trainee officers allotted to the AP cadre is happy with the state bifurcation. When we chose the AP cadre, we were not anticipating that the 23-district state will get divided, Chandana told
Shalini Agnihotri of Himachal Pradesh has been declared as the Best All-Round trainee IPS officer of the batch.Incidentally, Shalini got her parent state cadre.
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(Source-toi)

Jittery Centre cancels all-party meet on T-Centre To Hold Talks With Parties Willing To Share Views On Bifurcation

The all-party meeting to discuss the terms of reference for the Group of Ministers (GoM) looking into the bifurcation of the state as announced by Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde last week will not happen.Union home ministry sources indicated on Monday morning that the meeting will be held on November 12-13,but due to lack of unanimity within the Congress and the TDP,YSR Congress and CPM making it clear that they will not attend it,the Centre decided to cancel such a meet and instead hold individual consultations with those political parties that are willing to give their views on the subject.

The YSR Congress and CPM had made it clear on Sunday that they were against the division of the state and it would serve no purpose in them giving their views on the subject unless the Centre withdraws its decision of July 30 to divide the state.On Monday,beset by serious divisions between its Telangana and Seemandhra leaders,the TDP too hinted at boycotting the all-party meeting.When the GoM has already met twice,what is the need for seeking the views of the political parties at this juncture, said TDP Seemandhra leader Somireddy Chandrasekhar Reddy.TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu refused to commenting on the issue and instead,announced that he would resume his Atma Gaurava yatra from Prakasam district on November 15.

With the major parties staying away,and the Congress too a divided house,it was best to do away with the allparty meeting and instead hold one-onone meetings with those parties willing to give their views on the GoM terms of reference on Telangana.The date for such an interaction will be finalized once the home minister,who is in Maharashtra,arrives in Delhi in a day or two, AICC sources said.

Meanwhile,the state Congress was also not able to finalize its views on the terms of reference as the party is divided on regional lines.The division in the cabinet is so deep that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has not been able to hold a single meeting of his ministers to discuss the stand they should take regarding the terms of reference of the GoM. While PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana convened a meeting of the Telangana ministers and some MPs, chief minister Kiran and Botsa held separate meetings with the Seemandhra ministers which invited the wrath of the T-ministers. Upset over the way integrationist Kiran Kumar sided with the Seemandhra ministers, their Telangana counterparts threatened a boycott of the chief minister.

TERMS OF ESTRANGEMENT

YSR Congress,CPM had decided on Sunday to boycott GoM TDP in two minds,hints at boycotting the meet Cong divided on regional lines,couldnt finalize its views on terms of reference for GoM on T Upset over Kiran Kumar blatantly siding with Seemandhra ministers,Telangana ministers threatened a boycott of the CM

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Statute clear on new states,says Prez Pranab               

Hyderabad: President Pranab Mukherjee told the leaders of various political parties who urged him to ensure that the constitutional process was followed in the proposed bifurcation of the state that the Constitution was very clear on the subject. After his arrival in Hyderabad on Monday night, the President was greeted by a large group of politicians with demands ranging from stalling the process of bifurcation to the immediate creation of Telangana. Among those who met him were governor ESL Narasimhan, CM Kiran Kumar Reddy, YSRCP president Jaganmohan Reddy, a delegation of Seemandhra Telugu Desam Party led by Payyavula Keshav and a delegation of Telangana ministers,MPs and MLA along with scores of senior leaders.

Former PCC chief D Srinivas had a separate meeting with the President in Raj Bhavan here. During his one-on-one with the President, he is understood to have urged Mukherjee to assuage the sentiments of Seemandhra people with a suitable financial package. NTRs wife Lakshmi Parvathi also met Pranab and urged him to stall the process of bifurcation. Though Jagan avoided the media after his meeting with the President, the Telangana Congress leaders were a bit excited with the Presidents assertion that the Constitution was clear on the creation of new states. The T-Congress team consisting of ministers K Jana Reddy, Ponnala Laskhmiah, DK Aruna, B Saraiah, D Sridhar Babu, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Union minister Sarve Satyanarayana, MPs Madhu Yaskhi Goud, Ponnam Prabhakar and S Rajaiah urged Pranab to ensure that the creation of Telangana takes place before the 2014 elections.

Emerging from the meeting, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, Sarve Satyanarayana and Uttam Kumar Reddy said Pranab clarified to them that he would do what the Constitution states.YSR Congress leader M V Mysura Reddy, who accompanied Jagan, expressed satisfaction at the attention the President paid to their argument. TDP leader P Keshav said he had requested the President to ensure that equal justice was done to Seemandhra in case there was division. If equal justice is not possible,then the state be kept intact, was the demand of the TDP, according to Keshav. He said he had reminded the President of the trauma West Bengal underwent after its division.

CM Kiran Kumar Reddy calls on President Pranab Mukherjee at Raj Bhavan on Monday.The President will be the chief guest at the passing out parade of IPS probationers in the city on Tuesday   

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(Source-toi)

In a loaded statement that is likely to fuel fresh controversy,TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao categorically stated on Sunday that after the formation of a new state, employees from Seemandhra would have to vacate posts held in Telangana region.

In its reply to the group of ministers (GoM) that had asked for suggestions from 8 political parties, the TRS said Telangana employees had suffered gross injustice at the hands of united Andhra Pradesh government as it recruited non-locals in violation of laws over decades. As per our rough estimation,30% of the government employees presently working in Telangana belong to Seemandhra and all of them were illegally recruited over the decades, the letter signed by KCR and sent to the GoM says. The Telangana employees have suffered gross injustice at the hands of AP govt.Many non-locals who were recruited against quota of 20% (Dist category),30% (Non-gazetted category) and 40% (Gazetted category) have to be repatriated based on the definition of local candidate as defined in the Presidential Order 1975,and on the basis of nativity as reflected in the service registers, the letter,a copy of which is in possession of TOI said.

On the status of Hyderabad after division, the TRS has said it would not accept the formula making the city the common capital for 10 years. The party said it must not be joint capital for more than two years. KCRs demand comes at a time when Seemandhra employees are up in arms against the proposal of the state division and had struck work for 66 days, demanding the government to address their concerns over job security and status of Hyderabad. They had launched the strike on August 12,after KCR flip-flopped on the employees issue, by once saying that coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema employees must go back to their region, only to correct it later saying that he only meant divided Andhra Pradesh would need employees to fill up vacancies, created after formation of Telangana. While the latest TRS stand has left all the stakeholders, including the state government and the Seemandhra employees edgy, the TRS says it is justified in its stand.

BIFURCATION PANGS

KCR wants employees from Seemandhra to vacate posts held in Telangana region after bifurcation
TRS note to GoM claims 30% of government employees presently working in T belong to Seemandhra and were illegally recruited  Party says Presidential Order of 1975 clearly vouches for repatriation of employees

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Send more IAS officers to Telangana: TRS
We are not asking anything that is not provided under the existing law.We are just reminding the Centre of the Presidential Order of 1975 under which the employees must be repatriated.When the Telangana empoyees have suffered injustice for ages,why should anybody raise objection when it comes to rectification said K Keshava Rao,secretary general of TRS,who headed the party committee that prepared the note to the GoM.

Indicating a major downsizing of staff in Telangana state,the TRS has said in the letter: As on today, there are 4,03,002 govt employees who are drawing salaries through the district treasuries of Telangana, amounting to Rs 11,451 crores per annum.In view of this huge financial implication, the new state government of Telangana would like to critically and carefully go into the distribution of employees to reduce its financial burden. Not limiting its repatriation demand to lower rung employees,the party has insisted even on the relocation of gazetted officers.

All Gazetted officers, who are wrongly recruited and promoted, in violation of various safeguards provided to Telangana employees, have to be relocated to the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh on the basis of nativity, as reflected in the service register, said the letter. Citing the dearth of all-India service cadre in Telangana,the TRS has demanded to send more IAS officers to the new state.

While the AP Non-Gezetted Officers (APNGO), a Semandhra employees association spearheading the anti-Telangana agitation demanding repealing of the Article 371(D), which ensures job reservation for locals, before deciding on the bifurcation of state, the TRS has urged the Centre to continue the provision as it felt the interests of the local people had to be safeguarded even in the divided state.

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