Vijayawada: The long-pending disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, following the bifurcation of the state, seem to be moving towards a resolution with the talks between the high-level committees headed by the chief secretaries of the two states ending on a positive note on Monday.
The meeting, chaired by chief secretaries Neerabh Kumar Prasad (AP) and Santhi Kumari (Telangana) spanned for over three hours at the APIIC buildings in Mangalagiri. Senior officials from the two states attended the meeting to extend their inputs on different issues. However, the key issue of power dues was left unresolved as Telangana stuck to its stance that it need not to pay any arrears to AP, which has been seeking about 7,000 crore for power supplied to Telangana immediately after bifurcation. The two chief secretaries agreed to discuss the issue again at the next meeting. Sources said AP has agreed to remit about 81 crore to Telangana pertaining to dues from the excise and prohibition department. Both states also agreed to share the balance amount of 861 crore available in the labour, building, and other construction workers’ welfare fund. The principal secretaries of labour and employment departments were asked to work out the modalities to share the available balance in the labour welfare fund.
The committees also discussed about deposits available in PSU accounts listed in schedule IX and schedule X of AP Reorganisation Act. However, the issue of sharing the deposits could not be resolved due to lack of consensus on sharing the debts of the respective PSUs.
It was decided at the meeting to constitute high-level committees to launch joint operations against supply of narcotics and ganja.
