Hyderabad: The Telangana government was directed to pay Andhra Pradesh Rs 2500 crore, reportedly on Friday, August 23. The inter-government transaction would be Andhra Pradesh’s reimbursement of money spent from public debt accounts, raised for projects located in Telangana, at the time of Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation in 2014.
The move comes as a response to a directive from the Department of Expenditure of the Finance Ministry to the Telangana state government.
According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, all loans on account of the public debt of unified Andhra Pradesh should be shared on the basis of the population ratio of the new states. AP was however not ready to pay for the debts that were raised for the development projects in Telangana, including Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad.
“All liabilities on account of Public Debt and Public Account of the existing State of Andhra Pradesh outstanding immediately before the appointed day shall be apportioned on the basis of population ratio of the successor States unless a different mode of apportionment is provided under the provisions of this Act,” reads the Public Debt section (1) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
The TDP-led Andhra government took this issue to the NDA-led central government, which they are also part of, following which the Centre ordered in favour of Andhra Pradesh, with Telangana to be paying the former.
“The individual items of liabilities to be allocated to the successor States and the amount of contribution required to be made by one successor State to another shall be such as may be ordered by the Central Government on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. Provided that till such orders are issued, the liabilities on account of Public Debt and Public Account of the existing State of Andhra Pradesh shall continue to be the liabilities of the successor State of Andhra Pradesh,” says Public Debt section (2), Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
The congress-led Telangana government hopes to raise their concerns and safeguard their interest regarding the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 by fielding senior lawyer and former Additional Solicitor General of India, Abhishek Manu Singhvi as the state’s Rajya Sabha nominee, to take up these issues in the Parliament and the Supreme Court.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Parameswaran Valeri | 
