The issue of bifurcation of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad by setting up separate High Courts for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States was on top of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s agenda during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday.
Disputes between the two States on the front of irrigation and division of assets of joint institutions listed under Scheduled IX and X of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and increase in State’s borrowing limit were also understood to have been highlighted prominently by Mr. Rao in his meeting with the Prime Minister that lasted for more than half-an-hour. Mr. Rao, along with several Members of Parliament of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), met the Prime Minister in the latter’s office in the Parliament.
Sources in the ruling TRS stated from New Delhi that the Chief Minister had stressed the need for bifurcating the High Court highlighting the recent developments of suspension of judicial officers for supporting the strike by judicial employees and advocates seeking immediate division of the High Court.
He was said to have brought to the notice of Prime Minister that bifurcation of the High Court was getting delayed inordinately since it was not done even two years after bifurcation of combined AP, whereas the common High Courts were divided early in case of States like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao was also understood to have sought the Centre’s intervention in settling the lingering disputes between AP and Telangana including in irrigation and other issues.
He reiterated the State’s demand for recognition of one major irrigation project as national project for getting a lion’s share of funding. Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao submitted a memorandum with 34 issues to the Prime Minister, the sources said.
Meets Arun Jaitely,
Uma Bharati
In his meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the Chief Minister requested the former to speed up the process for increasing the State’s borrowing limit under Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act to 3.5 per of GSDP.
Following the Union Cabinet’s approval for the same, the limit was raised from 3 per cent to 3.25 per cent and it was required to increased by another 0.25 per cent as the State qualified for it for maintaining fiscal discipline.
Later, Mr. Rao met Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati and discussed about assistance from the Centre to projects in Telangana besides disputes with AP.
Ms. Bharati told Mr. Rao that she would soon visit Telangana to examine Mission Kakatiya programme.
The Chief Minister also had a meeting with party MPs in the night.
