Jana rules out Telangana Bill in AP assembly

Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy on Tuesday ruled out the possibilities of a Telangana Bill in the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly.

Talking to reporters at the State Secretariat here on Tuesday, Jana Reddy, who is also the chairman of Telangana Congress Steering Committee, said that the Telangana Bill could not be introduced in the legislative assembly on the lines of Uttar Pradesh assembly which passed a bill to divide the state into four parts. However, he said no state could be divided only through a resolution in the state assembly.

Jana Reddy said that the Telangana could be formed only by the Centre under Article 3 of the Constitution. He hoped that the Centre would take a decision on the issue soon while respecting the sentiments and aspirations of the people in the region.

The Minister also announced that the state government could not release water for the Rabi crops under the Nagarjuna Sagar Right and Left Bank Canals due to insufficient storage in the reservoir. He said the decision had been taken in consultation with the irrigation officials. A GO would be issued soon in this regard in the next few days.

Jana Reddy said that the decision would hit farmers in the districts of Khammam, Nalgonda, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam. He advised the farmers dependent on left and right bank canals to avoid growing long-term crops like paddy due to paucity of water. Instead, he asked them to cultivate short-term crops like cotton, groundnut and chilli that consume less water. He also advised the farmers to complete the harvest by February.

Responding to a query, the minister clarified that the bureaucrats have every right to reject a GO if was in violation of the Constitution. He also denied reports that the bureaucrats were being pressurised to issue specific GOs and were being made scapegoats.  He said the GOs were being issued only after the collective decision by the State Cabinet.

However, he said the officials would be held responsible if they pass the GOs while ignoring the constitutional norms. The minister's statement assumes importance in the wake of Central Bureau of Investigation grilling some officials in connection with issuing of GOs, especially in the Obulapuram Mining Corporation scam.

Jana Reddy hailed the overall performance of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who would be completing his one-year term on November 25.