The ongoing row between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the alleged diversion of welfare board funds deepened on Friday with A.P. rebutting the charge and TS threatening to take legal action unless its share was returned immediately.
On the basis of a complaint from a Telangana official that funds belonging to A.P. Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board were diverted to banks in Vijayawada without the knowledge of Telangana government, the police registered case and questioned two officials of the Board on Thursday.
Earlier in the day on Friday, A.P. Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao called on Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and lodged a complaint over the “high-handed” behaviour of the city police following which the Governor summoned Telangana Chief Secretary Rajeev Sharma and top police officials and sought their explanation.
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Accusing A.P. government of acting in an atrocious manner, Telangana Labour Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy alleged that the diversion of funds showed that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was facing severe fund crunch. “We will not allow them to take a single rupee of ours,” he asserted. While the funds in the board would have to be shared in the ratio of 58:42 between A.P. and TS, Mr. Reddy maintained that TS should get higher portion because it had paid more cess due to greater construction activity here.
Rebutting the charges of TS government, A.P. Labour Minister Atchan Naidu said not a paisa of Telangana was transferred from banks in Hyderabad to Vijayawada. No wrong was committed and only AP’s share of funds was transferred according to the AP Reorganisation Act, he said and condemned the booking of cases under section 420 of IPC against A.P. officials.
While the board had Rs.1,463 crore at the time of bifurcation, TS should get Rs.613 crore in accordance with its share of 42 per cent. But currently, the total amount in banks in Hyderabad was Rs.689 crore, which was Rs.76 crore more than what TS should get, according to Communications Advisor to Govt of AP Parakala Prabhakar.
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Meanwhile, Mr. Rajeev Sharma held a meeting with senior officials of various banks and brought to their notice several instances of unauthorised transfer of funds of public institutions in violation of the A.P. Reorganisation Act. He wanted all banks that hold deposits of the A.P. Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board to ensure that all the balances in different accounts were restored to the amounts as on June 1, 2014, the date on which these accounts were held by the undivided A.P.