With the budget session of the Telangana Assembly set to begin shortly, the police top brass have begun gathering intelligence about possible ‘Chalo Assembly’ programmes. Till last year, it was agitation programmes announced by various pro-Telangana parties that required massive security arrangements. But after the formation of Telangana, the police relaxed their grip on the issue.
At present, however, the police are focussing on agitations launched by various organisations and political parties. The police officials feel that issues related to beedi workers, pension and regularisation of jobs of contract employees can rake up protests. They are discreetly collecting inputs from various sources on issues requiring a close watch from the security point of view.
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As the budget sessions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are approaching fast, the officials of the Finance and Planning Departments are running against time in preparing budget estimates. The process of consultation with various departments in the two States concluded recently but officials are still struggling with the finer points of the budget due to policy changes announced by the Centre, including increase in the devolution of the Central pool of taxes , and uncertainty over Centrally-sponsored schemes.
Officials of the two States prepared the estimates in a hurry last time but they were asked to put their mind and soul into the exercise in the present budget to reflect the vision of the two governments for the next four years. Chief Ministers N. Chandrababu Naidu and K. Chandrasekhar Rao, respectively, are also engaged in the exercise.
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Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has quite often in the recent past complained that a fitting venue to host the Collectors’ conference was not available in Hyderabad, thanks to the haphazard manner in which government accommodation was distributed between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
He nursed a grouse that the bifurcation Bill was introduced in Parliament in a great hurry, giving rise to such problems. He expressed a view at meetings that the State should have been divided in a leisurely manner much earlier.
Mr. Rao was also sore that the stately Jubilee Hall where the Collectors’ conference took place every time was converted into the Legislative Council of Telangana. It was done merely because the Upper House of Andhra Pradesh was housed in an adjoining building in the same premises.
Summer challenge
Summer is here. So are power cuts, water shortages and the sweaty feeling of here we go again. For the TRS government, it is the biggest challenge. At the State Secretariat, bureaucrats are busy drawing strategies to surmount the problem and avert energy deficiency. As it is, the State is faced with a power deficit of 900 to 1,100 MW and it is bound to increase in the days to come. Telangana is already buying 4 to 5 million units per day from the Energy Exchange and authorities don’t foresee any problem in the days to come. But it is early and the real position will be known only when summer peaks
Reporting by Asif Yar Khan, B. Chandrashekhar, N. Rahul and J.S. Ifthekhar