New Delhi, January 07: Evidently, the B N Srikrishna Committee report is carefully drafted. For instance, when it speaks of the creation of a separate Telangana state, it delves deep into entailing problems – like the apprehensions of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema people and others who have settled in Hyderabad and other districts of Telangana with regard to investments, properties, livelihood and employment.
“These would need to be adequately addressed and confidence instilled that their safety and security would get the highest priority from the new dispensation,” the report said.
As for the “last workable option”, it suggests in the form of bifurcation of AP into Seemandhra and Telangana, the report notes that this should mean the creation of an enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a separate union territory. And, that with a finer point: such a UT would have have geographical linkage and contiguity via Nalgonda district in the south-east to Guntur in coatal Andhra and via Mehboobnagar in the south to Kurnool in Rayalaseema.
The report, however, cautions that it is likely to receive stiff opposition from Telangana protagonists. Listing six options, the committee itself rejected the first three which deal with – maintaining status quo, bifurcation of Andhra into Seemandhra and Telangana with Hyderabad as the UT and the two states developing their own in due course, and bifurcation into Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra with Hyderabad being an integral part of Rayala-Telangana.
A highly placed source said that given the explosive situation, the government was likely to take a political call in favour of the second best option of a separate Telangana with Hyderabad as its capital and Seemandhra with a new capital.
“The only worry for the government in going with this option is that it would embolden Maoists giving them a safe haven,” a source said, adding that ways can be found out to tackle it. A note on the long-term internal security implications submitted by the committee in a separate cover along with the report deals with this aspect.
Bracing up for trouble, including a possible split in Andhra Congress and eruption of violence, the Centre is aiming at four to six weeks to resolve the vexed issue as various political parties have already firmed up their views.
–Agencies