HM changes strategy, to sort out pending issues

In an interesting deve-lopment, the Union Home Ministry has changed its strategy on holding a meeting with the Chief Secretaries and other officials of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on pending issues relating to the AP Reorganisation Act.

On Tuesday, the Home Ministry sent a communication to both states that the proposed meeting will be held on March 12 and that only pending issues pertaining to the states will be on the agenda.

The Home Ministry had earlier said that all pending issues related to the AP Reorganisation Act pertaining to inter-state issues between TS and AP would be discussed.

Additional secretary, centrestate relations in the Home Ministry, T.V.S.N. Prasad, in a letter to the Chief Secretaries of TS and AP said that the Home Ministry intends to review the status of implementation of various issues under the 9th, 10th and 13th schedules of the AP Reorganisation Act.

He wrote that due to the preoccupation of officers of the state governments concerned, this meeting had to be postponed a few times. In this connection it is noted that while 9th and 10th schedules essentially deal with inter-state issues between the successor states of AP and Telangana, the 13th schedule is mainly concerned with assistance to be given by the central government for various projects listed in the schedule, and will be taken up by the concerned ministries, Mr Prasad clarified.

He said the meeting will be held on March 12, in Delhi, with the Union Home Secretary in the chair.

The 13th schedule deals with educational and infrastructure projects in both states. Twelve education institutions and projects have been listed in this schedule.

The Centre has promised tribal universities will be set up in both states and in the 2018-19 budget, the central government sanctioned `10 crore to each state for this purpose. But the centre has to amend the act to set up tribal universities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.