Telangana report favours united Andhra as ‘best workable’ option

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD - The Srikrishna Committee in its report on the issue of separate Telangana has favoured a “united Andhra Pradesh” as the “best workable” option with an empowered and statutory development council for Telangana region.

Following are the six optimal options suggested by the Srikrishna Committee in its report made available Thursday:

- Keep the state united and take constitutional and statutory measures for socio-economic development and political empowerment of Telangana region.

This can be done through the establishment of a statutory and empowered Telangana Regional Council with adequate transfer of funds, functions and functionaries. The committee finds this option “most workable” in the given circumstances and in the “best interest of the social and economic welfare of the people all the three regions”.

- “Second best” option: Bifurcate the state into Telangana and Seemandhra as per existing boundaries with Hyderabad as the capital of former and latter to have a new capital.

This option, the committee feels, has to be given consideration. It says the demand for a separate Telangana in “not entirely unjustified”. The committee says this is the “second best” option because creation of separate Telangana would also throw up serious problems though it will satisfy a large majority of people from the region.

- Maintain status quo, but it is least favoured.

The report says that the committee is of the unanimous view that it would not be a practical approach to simply maintain the status quo. It is an option but maintaining the status is “favoured the least”.

- Bifurcation of the state into Seemandhra and Telangana regions with Hyderabad going to none and be given union territory status. The two states develop their own capitals in due course.

But even this would be unacceptable, the reports says. There is a definite likelihood of serious backlashes in the Telangana region and the committee finds this option “also not practicable”.

- Bifurcation of state into Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra regions with Hyderabad as an integral part of Rayala-Telangana.

“This scenario is not likely to be accepted either by the pro-Telangana or by the pro-united Andhra protagonists. While this option may have economic justification, the committee believes that this option may not offer a resolution which would be acceptable to people of all three regions.”

- Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into Seemandhra and Telangana with enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a union territory with geographical linkage via Nalgonda district in the south-east to Guntur in coastal Andhra and via Mahboobnagar in the south to Kurnool in Rayalaseema.

But this is likely to receive stiff opposition from Telangana protagonists and it may be difficult to reach a political consensus in making this solution acceptable to all, it says.