Andhra Pradesh moves SC seeking fair division of assets with Telangana over 8 years after split

PTI, Dec 14, 2022, 8:36 PM IST

New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh government has moved the Supreme Court seeking an equitable and expeditious division of assets and liabilities between itself and Telangana, contending the actual division of assets has not even commenced more than eight years after the successor state was born.

It said it has approached the top court as ”Parens patriae” (parent of the nation), claiming that non division of the assets has benefited Telangana since about 91 per cent of these are situated in Hyderabad.

”Non-apportionment of the assets has led to a multitude of issues adversely affecting and violating the fundamental and other constitutional rights of the people of the State of Andhra Pradesh including the employees of the said Institutions.

”Without adequate funding and actual division of Assets in terms of the apportionment made under the Act (The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014), the functioning of the said Institutions in the State of Andhra Pradesh has been severely stunted,” the plea filed recently said.

Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated and the new state of Telangana came into existence on June 2, 2014.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing on Friday.

The petition said the employees working in state institutions (approximately 1,59,096 ) have been in a limbo since 2014 solely because there has been no proper division.

”The position of pensionable employees who have retired post bifurcation is pitiable and many of them have not received terminal benefits.

”It is therefore imperative that all these Assets be divided at the earliest and a quietus be put to the issue,” it said.

The Andhra Pradesh government said its institutions are an extension of the State and perform a range of basic and essential functions.

”Hyderabad (which is now a part of Telangana) was the capital of the combined State of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad was not only transformed into an economic powerhouse as a result of the ‘Capital Centric Development Model’ but also most of the institutions of governance (intended for the welfare of the people of all the regions of the State) including government infrastructure was exclusively centered in and developed around the city of Hyderabad by extensively investing resources of the combined State,” the plea said. After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad became the joint capital of the two states and the transitional arrangement is scheduled to end in 2024.