HC reserves orders over division of Lalapet dairy

Telangana High Court on Monday heard the over five-year-old dispute between sibling states of Telangana and AP over division of assets belonging to Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Corporation Federation (APDDCF) head office in Lalapet area of Hyderabad between the two states.

Advocate generals of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh advanced their arguments claiming their shares. Following this, the division bench comprising justices M.S. Ramachandra Rao and T. Vinod Kumar reserved its orders.

APDDCF has been listed under Schedule IX of the AP Reorganisation Act. Andhra Pradesh government had approached the then united High Court in 2016 challenging Telangana state’s GO declaring the premises, infrastructure and machinery at Lalapet head office of APDDCF as belonging to Telangana government. The TS government had also gone on to take over possession of the property in Lalapet including buildings and machinery.

Aggrieved, AP approached the then joint High Court asserting that assets of APDDCF should be shared in 58:42 ratio, because it belonged to both states, as it was constructed and developed in united AP.

Andhra Pradesh advocate general Sriram submitted that according to the AP Reorganisation Act, headquarters of Schedule IX institutions should be shared on basis of the population ratio of 58:42 between the two states. He said this applies to all assets of office headquarters located in Hyderabad.

Whereas, Telangana advocate general B.S. Prasad argued that as per Section 53 of the Act, properties situated within the vicinity of the respective state belong to that state, except the administrative office buildings. Prasad submitted that Telangana has never claimed any operational units of APDDCF situated in Andhra Pradesh. He maintained that the Lalapet unit is an operational centre and thus belongs to Telangana. He, however, conceded that Andhra

Pradesh can claim its stake in Vijay Bhavan, the administrative office of APDDCF.

Prasad’s argument centred around headquarters not including all assets in Hyderabad but only the principal administrative building of an institution or organisation. He also underlined that milk and dairy products of Vijaya Dairy are generally supplied throughout Telangana, from Lalapet unit, as and there are no major units in Telangana. So Lalapet should be treated as an operational unit.

“The headquarters, that is, principal office of the undertaking is to be apportioned as per population ratio. Operational units are to be divided on location basis,” TS AG contended.

The division bench, while reserving its orders, observed that the union government has no power to interpret the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act or decide on a dispute arising out of bifurcation. The central government can, however, resolve the dispute amicably by arranging talks between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the bench observed.