Willing for judicial panel to divide AP-Telangana assets? SC asks Centre
The distribution of assets between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has remained pending since the bifurcation of the unified Andhra Pradesh in 2014
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to state its willingness to have a retired judge handle the distribution of assets between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, an issue that has remained pending since the bifurcation of the unified Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Making it clear that such matters should not come to courts for adjudication, a bench of justices JK Maheshwari and MM Sundresh asked the Centre, “Would it be possible if some retired judge can do this job? These matters should not come to courts.”
The court has posted the matter in July to enable both Centre and Telangana governments to file their responses. Additional solicitor general (ASG) KM Nataraj appearing for Centre told the court that he will seek instructions on the suggestion of the court.
The court was dealing with a petition filed by the YS Jaganmohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh, which claimed that the assets to be distributed included 245 institutions, the worth of which comes to ₹1.42 lakh crore. In Hyderabad alone, the approximate value of assets of the headquarters of Schedule – IX institutions was estimated at over ₹24,000 crores, of which nearly 94% is located in Telangana.
The court had issued notice to Centre on the petition in January when it asked the Union government to point out steps being taken for actual division despite apportionment of the institutions and corporations between the two states that was already fixed under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
The state had requested if a judicial panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge could be handed over this task as done in the past with regard to contentious inter-state issues.
The AP government’s plea filed through advocate Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki said, “Non division of assets is clearly to the benefit of Telangana since about 91% of these assets are situated in Hyderabad (the Capital of the erstwhile combined state), which is now in Telangana.”
Without adequate funding and actual division of assets ,the functioning of the said Institutions in the state of Andhra Pradesh have been severely stunted, it added.
More than 15 million employees are said to be working in these institutions as the state claimed that the position of pensionable employees who retired post bifurcation is pitiable since many are yet to receive terminal benefits. “It is therefore imperative that all these assets be divided at the earliest and a quietus be put to the issue,” the state said seeking enforcement of fundamental rights of Andhra citizens.
