Telangana Requests Central Government to Reintegrate Five Villages from Andhra Pradesh
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Hyderabad, April 5 (NationPress) The Telangana government has formally requested the Centre to advance a Bill in Parliament aimed at reinstating five villages that were integrated into Andhra Pradesh back in 2014.
Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has addressed a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging that the bill be introduced in the current Parliamentary session to facilitate the re-integration of these five villages into Telangana.
The minister, representing Khammam district, emphasized the need for restoring these villages located near Bhadrachalam for better administrative management. He further pointed out the challenges faced by the tribal communities arising from these villages being governed by Andhra Pradesh.
This push for legislative action follows the recent passage of a Bill in Parliament that grants Amaravati the status of the sole and permanent capital of Andhra Pradesh.
During discussions on the bill in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, representatives from Telangana raised concerns regarding the villages that were merged into Andhra Pradesh.
Nageswara Rao had previously met with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu in February, where he advocated for the return of the five villages to Telangana.
Post-meeting, the minister reiterated the necessity of parliamentary legislation to effectuate this transfer.
He recalled that in 2014, the Centre had merged seven mandals from Telangana's Khammam district with Andhra Pradesh to support the construction of the Polavaram project across the Godavari River.
Nageswara Rao noted that one must traverse these five villages in Andhra Pradesh to access Telangana from Bhadrachalam.
The minister insisted that both state Assemblies should endorse resolutions calling on the Centre to facilitate the transfer of these villages back to Telangana.
Rao claimed that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was receptive to the request.
Additionally, the Telangana minister had previously sent letters to Amit Shah and Chief Minister Naidu in November of the prior year.
He appealed to the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government to return the five villages adjacent to the temple town of Bhadrachalam to Telangana, citing their significant historical, religious, tribal welfare, and administrative importance.
“These areas are geographically like an enclave surrounded by Telangana territory on two sides, with the Godavari River and forest reserves on the other, creating an administrative anomaly that poses various challenges for both states,” he stated.