Governor orders reallocation of Andhra Pradesh govt buildings in Hyderabad to Telangana govt as per 2014 reorganisation Act

Hyderabad: In a significant development, Governor ESL Narasimhan Sunday ordered re-allocation of all government buildings in Hyderabad, which were earmarked for Andhra Pradesh at the time of its bifurcation in 2014, to the Telangana government. Since the Andhra Pradesh government is functioning from its capital Amaravati, the official buildings allocated to it are lying vacant, an official release said. The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governor issued orders reallocating the buildings to the newly-carved-out state in accordance with the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, following the consent given by the chief ministers of the two neighbouring states, it said. [caption id=“attachment_5128891” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. PTI[/caption] At the time of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, government buildings in Hyderabad were allocated equally to the two state governments, but the Andhra government has been paying the electricity bills and other maintenance costs of the buildings even though it was not utilising them. The order was issued as per Section 8 of the APRA, 2014, after the two chief ministers — YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and K Chandrashekar Rao — consented to the re-allocation of the buildings. Hyderabad remains the common capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana till 1 June, 2024, as per the Act. The release said most of the buildings were in a “dilapidated condition” since they were not utilised. Two buildings, one for the police and another for other department offices, will be earmarked in Hyderabad for use by the Andhra Pradesh government, it added. Welcoming the governor’s orders, the Telangana chief minister called it an “auspicious sign”. “It is a welcome and auspicious sign that both the state governments have decided to move forward with mutual goodwill and fraternity, with people’s welfare in mind and development of both the states as the main aim,” Rao said. Since the buildings were not utilised they were in a dilapidated state. Against this backdrop, the Telangana Cabinet on Sunday urged the governor to re-allocate the office buildings given to the Andhra Pradesh government. Rao said his aim, ambition and effort would be to see to it that both the states develop with its people living in peace and prosperity and all the issues between the two states be amicably solved.