Does Separate State Benefit Telangana People?

About Telangana

The ten Telangana districts, covering an area of 1, 15,000 Sq.km (AP 2, 75,000) and population of 310 Lakhs (AP 762) is about 40% of the Area and Population of AP State. The SC & ST population of Telangana is around 25% against the State average of 22%. The urban population of 30% in the region compared to the State average of 27%, highlights concentration of development efforts in and around Hyderabad and the Urban-Rural disparity. The percentage of literacy is around 41% against the State average of 44%.

The Telangana, with about 40% of the area and the population of the State, is rich in natural resources such as coal, lime stone and other mineral deposits, forest wealth etc apart from the fact that the main rivers Krishna and Godavari and their tributaries pass through the region. But unfortunately many parts of the region suffer from scarcity of safe drinking water, lack of assured source of water for irrigation, huge unemployment, large scale abject poverty, illiteracy, superstitions, exploitation, lack of basic civic amenities and deteriorating law and order situation.

Neglect of Telangana

No doubt, the present system of governance has failed to deliver the goods particularly in respect of Telangana, mainly because of lack commitment to the region, due to improper deployment and/or miss utilization of material and human resources. It has also failed to recognize the importance of irrigation water on agricultural production and rural employment and the land productivity in general.

The talk of major irrigation projects on Godavari/Krishna Rivers for the benefit of Telangana region was going on for the last 50 years or so but they have not materialized till to date mainly because of lack of political commitment. On the contrary the integrated and well established irrigation network of tanks and reservoirs developed by Kakatiya Rulers in the region, have been neglected and destroyed over the period.

The length of roads per 100 Sq.km of area in the State is much lower, when compared to three neighboring southern states and the road length in Telangana is even lower. Apart from the inadequacy of road network, the condition and the riding quality of the State and District highways in Telangana region are comparatively poor. The situation in respect of railway network is no different. The long talked about Peddapalli-Karimnagr- Nizamabad line is yet to be fully commissioned, while Badrachalam- Kovvur and Mahabubnagar-Munirabad lines remained non starters. The gauge conversion of Secunderabad-Nizamabad-Mudhked line has been unduly delayed, having its adverse impact on the development of the area.

Change for Better

The fundamental objective of any change proposed in the governance of the region should be to bring about rapid and sustained improvement in the quality of life of the people of the region. The only durable solution to the curse of poverty is sustained growth of incomes and productive employment in Agriculture, in Industry and in Services. Such growth requires investments in irrigation, in industry, in power, in road/rail network and, above all, in people. The important aspect is to ensure that material and human resources are deployed and utilized in the most productive manner.

Infrastructure services are critical for all sectors of economy namely agricultural, industrial and services, and they have emerged as the single most severe bottleneck to development of Telangana. The present day problem of law and order in the region, which is mainly due to unemployment, poverty, exploitation, inequitable distribution and concentration of wealth, will only subside with the overall economic development of the area and ensuring equitable distribution of wealth generated, bridging the wide gap between the "Haves" and "Have-Nots"

Questions Remain Unanswered

The separate state for Telangana provides the system of governance exclusively for the region but how is it going to bring about rapid and sustained improvement in the quality of life of the people of the region? Is it going to be any different from the present system of governance ie integrated Andhra Pradesh? Can't the objective of rapid development of the region be achieved in the present set up itself, by ensuring certain statutory safeguards, protections and budgetary allocations for the region?

Is Small Beautiful?

If the objective can be achieved in integrated AP itself, why go in for a separate state involving additional financial burden on the State which has already been faced with huge debt burden? Is it essential to go in for smaller states, in the name administrative convenience, when we are talking of Decentralization and Devolution of Powers and Responsibilities to Districts, Mandals and Panchayats, to function as Institutions of Self Government? Doesn't Information Technology help in ensuring better administration and control of even bigger states with much less establishment costs of having Smaller States?

Who are Going to be Real Beneficiaries?

Do we want separate Telangana State for the sake of a Smaller State, for the benefit of a few Select and Privileged Sections or for the Overall Uplift and Benefit of the Masses? Does a separate state really benefit the Rural Areas and Masses of Telangana? Who are going to be the real beneficiaries of a Separate State?.