The three-member expert committee appointed by the Centre to divide assets, liabilities and properties belonging to 89 government companies and corporations listed in Schedule IX of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, has arrived at a unanimous view on sharing 66 of them between AP and Telangana States.
Besides, there is clarity on another 17 corporations/companies whose operations are exclusive to either AP or Telangana such as EPDCL and Vizag Apparel Park (AP) and CPDCL and Pasha Mailaram Textile Park (TS). In all, there are 12 such entities exclusive for Telangana and 5 for Andhra Pradesh. The remaining 72 entities have operations in both the States.
Highly placed official sources told The Hindu that the committee comprising retired IAS officers Sheila Bhide (chairperson), K.V. Rao and A.K. Goel has reached at an understanding without any dispute on dividing the 66 government corporations, societies, federations and councils. However, their division is now pending only for want of updated accounts of those government bodies till the Appointed Day of June 2.
“The audited and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)-approved balance sheets (accounts) of the 66 government bodies are available till March 31, 2014. However, they are required to be audited for the period between April 1, 2014, and June 2, 2014, and approved by the CAG before they are divided between the two States for all practical purposes,” the sources said.
The expert committee has asked the government bodies to get their accounts audited along with the CAG approval so that their division was completed by December-end. “There is no dispute either in sharing the assets, liabilities and properties or dividing the employees as they are clearly guided by Sections 53 (1) (a) (b), 53 (2) and 82,” the sources explained.
On the remaining six contentious entities, including the AP State Road Transport Corporation and the AP State Financial Corporation, the expert committee is working on arriving at consensus to divide them between the two successor States.
“The panel has held 14 meetings so far quietly and arrived at unanimity on 66 entities and it hopes to do the same in the matter of the remaining six corporations/companies,” the sources noted.
