The high-level committee on Telangana today held its first meeting and chalked out certain plans, including visits to Hyderabad and other places
The high-level committee on Telangana today held its first meeting and chalked out "certain plans", including visits to Hyderabad and other places, while examining the demands for both separate
Telangana and the status quo on maintaining the unity of
Andhra Pradesh.
The committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna, which has been given time till December 31 to submit its report, will visit Hyderabad "very soon" and hold discussions with all stakeholders.
"We have chalked out certain plans. We propose to have interaction with all sections of the society as soon as possible.
"We will ascertain their views. We will also hold a series of meetings with different strata of people in the affected areas," Srikrishna told reporters after a three-hour long meeting.
He said the committee will "try and see what can be done on the issue so that all people are happy and there is peace and prosperity throughout the state without giving rise to violence and internecine quarrels."
Member-Secretary VK Duggal said the committee will have its second meeting on February 25.
Asked about protests over the issue, Srikrishna said, "I am not worried about protests. We will do our job and present the report and it is for the government to take a decision."
To a question on whether the tenure of the committee would be like that of Liberhan panel on Babri Masjid demolition, which got many extensions, the former judge said he had headed many panels in the past and completed the task "in two-thirds time".
"You can examine the records," he said.
Duggal, a former home secretary, said though the committee will function from New Delhi, it will travel to Hyderabad and other parts of Andhra Pradesh, if needed, often.
"The committee will issue a public notice in newspapers in Delhi and Hyderabad. All interested groups, people, outfits and trade organisations can send memorandum and their views to us. We will examine them and submit a report to the government," Duggal said.
"We will examine them (views and memorandum) and the government has given us time till 31st December. We want to
finish this job as quickly as possible," he said.
As the meeting began, seven students, including some girls, tried to stage a protest outside its venue, Vigyan Bhawan, but were detained by the police.
There was a huge police presence outside the meeting venue.
Duggal said the committee will have an "administrative support system" in Hyderabad.
The committee was constituted by the Centre on February 3, nearly two months after it announced that it will initiate steps for the formation of a separate state of Telangana.
The five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge Srikrishna has been given time till the end of this year
to submit its report.
The seven-point terms of reference, announced by the Centre yesterday, has mandated the committee to "examine the
situation in the state of Andhra Pradesh with reference to the
demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand
for maintaining the present status of united Andhra."
The committee includes Ranbir Singh, Abusaleh Shariff, Ravinder Kaur and former home secretary Vinod K Duggal as member-secretary.
The panel will hold wide-ranging consultations with political parties, civil societies and other outfits on the Telangana issue, which has divided almost all the political parties in Andhra Pradesh on regional lines.
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