June will once again rekindle the bifurcation pangs in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This is most felt in three government properties spread across the heart of Hyderabad. One of them is the sprawling Lake View Guest House, which lies close to the banks of the historic Hussainsagar lake. The two-storied heritage structure with a dozen rooms sits atop a hill overlooking lush green gardens and sloping pathways. The site is secured by the Andhra Pradesh police, and a state of alertness is visible among the large posse of policemen camped with their vehicles inside the property. The Lakeview Guest House serves as the Andhra Pradesh chief minister’s camp office in Hyderabad. Though CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has never visited the office, it is one of the last remnants of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad. It also houses the offices of his Chief Advisor, National Media Advisor, Industries Advisor, Special Representative for Far East countries, and the protocol department. The fate of Lake View Guest House hangs in the balance as the ten-year status of Hyderabad as the joint capital of two states comes to an end on June 2, 2024, in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
Apart from Lake View, the Andhra Pradesh government’s presence can be witnessed in two other buildings. The Hermitage building complex in Adarsh Nagar houses the offices of General Administration (GAD), State Reorganisation, and Roads and Buildings Departments. The third building is that of the CID (Crime Investigation Department) of the Andhra Pradesh police in Masab Tank. Though the Telangana government has complete control over the administration and policing jurisdictions of Hyderabad, the Act specified that Andhra Pradesh could use government properties until a full-fledged capital of their own was ready.
The Telangana government is gearing up to take over the three properties, but Andhra Pradesh wants to retain control in Hyderabad, citing unresolved issues between the two states. On January 8 this year, the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh dashed off a two-page letter to the Chief Secretary of Telangana on this matter.
“As bilateral issues between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana relating to the division of assets and liabilities…are yet to be resolved, it is essential to have the presence of the Government of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad till the same are settled. Accordingly, the Government of Andhra Pradesh would like to retain the Lakeview Guest House, Hermitage office complex, and CID headquarters. I, therefore, request you to convey the consent of the Government of Telangana for the same.”
These were the contents of the letter written by AP CS, K.S. Jawahar Reddy, to Telangana CS A. Santhi Kumari. The Telangana government, which has mulled over the matter, doesn’t seem to be in a mood to favorably consider the request of Andhra Pradesh. As soon as the general elections got over in the fourth phase, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy instructed officials to prepare for the takeover of the properties after June 2. However, the Election Commission has ordered the state cabinet to only address emergency matters and defer issues related to the common capital until June 4, when results will be out.
Taking a more aggressive stand than the Andhra Pradesh government, some political leaders feel that Hyderabad should continue to be the joint capital for another decade since Andhra Pradesh couldn’t develop a capital all these years.
“Sec. 5: Hyderabad to be the common capital for the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for a period not exceeding ten years; But as Andhra Pradesh could not get a capital, now the President of India shall consider issuing an ordinance extending the period by another ten years,” tweeted President of the Jai Bharat party and former IPS officer, V.V. Lakshminarayana, tagging the official Twitter handle of Rashtrapati Bhavan. This led to intense debate on the topic with many backing his stand. Some Andhra Congress leaders have also echoed the same opinion.
But looking back, Hyderabad has hardly been utilized to its full potential by successive Andhra Pradesh governments. In 2014, the Andhra Pradesh government was occupying multiple buildings with hundreds of employees in Hyderabad. The state secretariat and Assembly were also in the capital. However, from 2016, during the term of TDP’s N. Chandrababu Naidu, government offices and employees began moving base to Amaravathi, the proposed capital of Andhra Pradesh back then. This action was prompted by political reasons after the Telangana police allegedly busted an attempt to bribe a then ruling party BRS (then TRS) MLC by TDP leaders. The relations between both Chief Ministers K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and N. Chandrababu Naidu got strained beyond repair, and Naidu decided to shift lock, stock, and barrel. From then on, the Andhra Pradesh government’s presence thinned. More recently, in June 2019, the Andhra Pradesh government handed over buildings like the Secretariat, Assembly, Council, and other major government buildings officially to the Telangana government after YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took charge as the new CM of Andhra Pradesh. This was possible due to the good relations and bonhomie shared between Jagan and KCR.
While Naidu governed from Amaravathi with a grand idea of developing a huge capital region, Jagan came up with a three-capital idea with the administrative capital in Vizag, executive in Amaravathi, and judicial capital in Kurnool.
“Asking for an extension for Hyderabad as the joint capital might not be justifiable,” felt senior journalist and Hyderabad-based political analyst M. Somshekar. “Ten years is adequate time for a residual state to have its own capital. The first and second chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh have clear ideas on the capital. Naidu was, in fact, developing a greenfield Amaravathi, and though Y.S. Jagan proposed a decentralized system of development with three capitals, he clarified that Vizag will be the main capital. There is some clarity regarding Amaravathi and Vizag, and having its own capital will accelerate its growth. Anyway, there was not much activity in Hyderabad by the Andhra Pradesh government. So, it is in the interest of both states and Hyderabad that the issue should be resolved.”
But the issues between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are aplenty. Under the aegis of the Union Home Ministry, more than 38 meetings took place between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments between 2014 and 2022 over the distribution of government assets and liabilities. There were also low-level meetings between officials of both states, but no headway was made. Under the ninth schedule of the Act, there are 89 government corporations and companies like AP Seeds Corporation and AP Women’s Finance Corporation, which have to be bifurcated. Under the tenth schedule, there are 107 training institutions and centers like Telugu University and Hindi Academy which also need to be bifurcated. The Sheetal Bhide committee, appointed by the Center to oversee the distribution of government assets and liabilities, came up with recommendations in terms of distribution of assets like buildings, vehicles, and fixed deposits. But there was not much progress as both state governments couldn’t agree to all the recommendations. The Andhra Pradesh government approached the Supreme Court in 2022 to appoint a judicial committee to resolve the matter. Then, of course, there are long-pending issues related to electricity and water between the two states.
“Nowhere in the country was bifurcation this bitter. We have seen the cases of new states like Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh where there are some issues still pending. The case is different between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where the negativity is still prevalent and there is no resolution in sight for many issues in the near future,” said a senior government official who did not wish to be quoted.
