Nearly a week after setting up a five-member committee on the Telangana issue, the Union government on Friday announced the panel’s seven-point terms of reference.
The committee, headed by the former Supreme Court judge, Justice B. N. Srikrishna, has been asked to examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a Telangana State as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh.
“The committee is requested to submit its report by December 31, 2010,” a Home Ministry statement said. The panel may hold its first meeting here on Saturday, informed sources said.
The committee will review the developments in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of different regions of the State. It will examine the impact of the recent developments on different sections of people such as women, children, students, minorities, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The committee, constituted on February 3, will consult all sections of people, especially political leaders, on the “aforesaid matters and elicit their views; to seek from the political parties and other organisations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of the people; to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose; and to recommend a plan of action and a road map.”
According to the terms of reference, the committee will “consult other organisations of civil society such as industry, trade, trade unions, farmers’ organisations, women’s organisations and students’ organisations on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views with specific reference to the all-round development of the State’s different regions.” The panel has been asked to make any other suggestion or recommendation that it may deem appropriate.
