NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre and the Telangana government on a plea filed by Andhra Pradesh government seeking expeditious and equitable division of assets and liabilities following its division.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and M M Sundresh issued notice to the Centre and the Telangana government.
In its writ petition, Andhra Pradesh said, "Notwithstanding the fact that the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana came into existence as long back as on 02.06.2014, and the apportionment of assets and liabilities has been conclusively made under the Act between the Successor States, the actual division of assets has not even commenced till date [despite repeated efforts by the Government of Andhra Pradesh seeking a speedy resolution]."
The plea by Andhra Pradesh said it has approached the apex court as “parens patriae” since “non-division of the 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”.
The plea said Hyderabad was not only transformed into an economic powerhouse because of the ‘Capital Centric Development Model’ but also, most of the institutions of governance (intended for the welfare of the people of all the regions of the state), including government infrastructure, were exclusively centred in and developed around the city of Hyderabad by extensively investing resources of the combined state.
The AP government said the employees working in the state institutions (1,59,096) have been in a limbo since 2014, solely because there has been no proper division. The government said it is therefore imperative that all assets be divided at the earliest and a quietus be put to the issue.
"Non apportionment of the assets has led to a multitude of issues adversely affecting and violating the fundamental and other constitutional rights of the people of the State of Andhra Pradesh including the employees of the said institutions," it said.
The plea further contended that without adequate funding and actual division of assets in terms of the apportionment made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, the functioning of the institutions in Andhra Pradesh has been severely stunted.
The plea added, “It is pertinent to point out that these Institutions are an extension of the State and perform a range of basic and essential functions in fields as diverse as agriculture, dairy development, education, medical services, minority and backward class development, industrial development, infrastructure development, social security etc. and the fact that their assets have not yet been bifurcated has seriously debilitated their functioning which has a direct and adverse impact on the people of State Andhra Pradesh, who they are intended to serve”.
The Andhra Pradesh said the approximate value of Assets of the Headquarters of Schedule – IX institutions is estimated as Rs 24,018.53 crores. Out of these, Assets worth Rs 22,556.45 crores [93.9%] are located in the State of Telangana.
In respect of Schedule – X institutions, the total approximate value of fixed assets to be divided between the two successor States is Rs 34,642.77 crores. Out of these, Assets worth Rs 30,530.86 crores [88%] are located in the State of Telangana.
In respect of the 12 institutions so far identified which are not mentioned either in Schedule – IX or Schedule – X of the Act, all their assets, approximately valued at Rs 1759 crores, are located in the State of Telangana.
The plea settled by senior advocate K V Vishwanathan and filed by Mahfooz A Nazki made the following prayers:
** Declaring the inaction of the State of Telangana and the Union of India in not dividing the Assets and Liabilities of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh [including the Assets and Liabilities of the Institutions specified in Schedule – IX and Schedule – X of the Act as also other Institutions] between the two Successor States in terms of the apportionment made by the Act as being arbitrary and violative of the Fundamental Rights of the people of Andhra Pradesh, on whose behalf the present Writ Petition is being espoused by the Petitioner State as well as the rights of the State under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India;
** Direct the State of Telangana to furnish to the State of Andhra Pradesh details of all properties (immovable and movable - including funds) of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh [including the Assets and Liabilities of the Institutions specified in Schedule – IX and Schedule – X of the Act as also other Institutions] in respect of which this Writ Petition has been filed.
** Direct the State of Telangana to forthwith carry out all measures that are required to physically hand over to the State of Andhra Pradesh/the Corporations their respective Assets and Liabilities including the Assets and Liabilities of the Institutions specified in Schedule – IX and Schedule – X of the Act as also other Institutions.
** Direct the State of Telangana to pay compensation in the form of interest @ 15% per annum with effect from the appointed date as defined under Section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act i.e 02.06.2014 to the State of Andhra Pradesh/its Corporations on the value of Andhra Pradesh’s share of the apportioned assets.
** Appoint an impartial, neutral and independent Arbitrator(s) / Retd. Judge(s) of this Court to supervise and monitor the actual division of the Assets and Liabilities of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh [including the Assets and Liabilities of the Institutions specified in Schedule – IX and Schedule – X of the Act as also other Institutions] between the two Successor States in terms of the Apportionment made under the Act.
