Telangana and Seemandhra CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Outside the Hindi- and Bengali-speaking areas two states speaking the same language have been created 2

Telangana was born as Indias 29th State in June 2014. 3

4 The struggle for Telangana, it was argued, was not only about creating smaller States for better administration, alleviating the problems of backwardness, merely creating a new State, or splitting an existing State. Telangana movement was a genuine peoples movement for a region that has the right to self-expression, self-rule and self- determinism within the legal confines of the Indian Constitution. The concerns of Seemandhra (coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema) regions, are assured to be discussed and resolved amicably.

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6 Now that the political decision of dividing the State has been taken, the problem of Hyderabad, river waters and everything else can be solved by agreement or by arbitration, it was maintained. While a united State was not bereft of problems, a division would by no means ensure that these problems would disappear. The real question now is for both the state and the central governments to address the issues that may crop up in its wake.

The 10 Telangana districts will have 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 assembly constituencies. Hyderabad city, the present Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), covering a total area of 7,073 sq km and with a population of over 7 million, would serve as capital city for Telangana. Seemandhra will develop its capital city (perhaps Vijayawada) soon. 7

Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana: HMDA hosts several strategic government establishments. Of these, 28 are national strategic establishments, adding, the structure of Hyderabad's GDP_ differs radically from the other regions, marking out its economic development as different from the rest of Telangana. 8

It is crucial to reflect on the issue of the paradigm of development that we have today, where there is a concentration of wealth and power in capital city of Telangana and we need to develop a capital city for Seemandhra. The benefits of investing in and building a new capital for Seemandhra is a magnet for investment, on the lines of Naya Raipur, which was built in seven years, for the State of Chhattisgarh. 9

It would be an opportunity for the people of Seemandhra to build a new city which can become a model with green buildings, efficient public transport, and maybe a Bus Rapid Transit System, which is probably the most effective way of managing transport in any city. 10

Sri. K Chandrasekhar Rao has taken charge as CM of Telangana, the new State, and Sri. N Chandrababu Naidu as CM of Andhra Pradesh also called Seemandhra. They would keep the long term interests of their people in mind, and meet the challenges successfully in solving any Telangana- Andhra Pradesh dispute. 11

The key issues 12 Water sharing, Irrigation and agriculture, The city of Hyderabad, Sharing of resources, Taxation and revenue, Education, Employment.

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NATURAL RESOURCE IN TELANGANA Bioresource Forest areas Fruits growing Mineral resource Coal Limestone Bauxite Mica 15

Resource, Infrastructure Telangana is two major rivers of south India, Krishna and Godavari, and has a large number of tributaries of these rivers. It is one of the largest coal producing areas of the country. It is rich in forest wealth and mineral resources. It has fairly well developed assets like railway system, industrial units and the capital city. 16

An opportunity is there to tackle the outstanding issues between the two States (Telangana -Seemandhra) within the framework provided by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014. Hyderabad remains a joint capital for ten years, a period to allow reinvestment and resettlement. Allocation of employees, management of water resources and sharing of power are contentious subjects, to be settled through the available mechanisms. 17

Telangana is a semi-arid area and has a predominantly hot and dry climate. Summers start in March, and peak in May with average high temperatures in the 42 C (108 F) range. The monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September with about 755 mm (29.7-inch) of precipitation. A dry, mild winter starts in late November and lasts until early February. With little humidity and average temperatures in the 2223 C (72 73 F) range, this is the most comfortable time of the year. Climate 18

The Telangana region has an area of 114,840 square kilometres (44,340 sq mi), and a population of 35,286,757 (2011 census) which is 41.6% of Andhra Pradesh state population. Khammam and Warangal areas have forest resource. Also, rice is cultivated. Pulses, oilseeds and fruits and vegetables are produced in some districts. 19

RIVER WATERS Perennial rivers Godavari and Krishna are flowing in Telangana before flowing down through other regions and ending up in the Bay of Bengal. Musi, Bhima, Kinnerasani and Pen Ganga are the smaller rivers that flow in Telangana. 20

WATER RESOURCE UTILIZATION Most of Godavari in Telangana is flowing 3 meters below the surface level, so proposed irrigation projects are lift Irrigation system, which needs huge amounts of energy to ensure the proper function of system. The State has to face severe challenges to meet the energy demand to develop infrastructure. 21

Telangana and economic aspects_ The revenue sharing aspect: .Even as the share of Union taxes, non-tax revenues and grants-in-aid would remain undisturbed post-bifurcation, among the state tax revenues, nearly 98 per cent of the collection of Sales Tax, State Excise Tax, Stamps and Registration Duty and tax on vehicles were location-based and would be collected by the respective States. Rayalaseema, is also backward with 14 million people, no coastline, no rainfall and not industrialised. 22

There are six projects three each in Telangana region and Andhra and Rayalaseema region based on the surplus water of Krishna river. As much as Rs. 40,000 crores of public money had been spent and about 80 per cent of the work had been completed. These projects have become inter-State projects now and a regulatory board would have to be set up to release water allocated by the tribunal. 23 WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

24 Telangana is an opportunity to redesign the architecture of governance. The focus needs to be on resource augmentation and sustainable use and local communities must have a role to play in that and provide a common ground for all the stakeholders including governments to work together. The suggestion of forming a water- management board, a river-management board and other developmental corporation is a good one.

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A new capital city for SEEMANDHRA 26

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