Telangana CM slams NDA over Polavaram Bill; vows to fight on

Telangana Government denounced as "undemocratic and unethical" the passage of a Bill in the Lok Sabha today that paves the way for Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh by merging some villages and mandals of the newly formed state, and indicated that legal options are being explored against the Centre's decision.
Expressing disappointment over the bill's passage, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the fight against amendment to the State Reorganisation Act, leading to transfer of some areas in Khammam district to Andhra Pradesh to facilitate the multi-purpose irrigation project, will continue.
"This is a clear-cut violation of Article 3 (which provides for creation of a new state). The NDA Government's decision is unfortunate and undemocratic. It is unethical on the part of NDA Government to pass the Bill in this manner just because it enjoys majority in the Lok Sabha," he said.

The Chief Minister said the Centre should have taken the Telangana Government into confidence and obtained its consent before issuing an ordinance on the issue and then introducing a Bill in Parliament to replace it.
He said though his party MPs argued against the move, the BJP-led ruling coalition did not take their objections into account and went ahead with the legislation.
Rao said he had petitioned the Centre and the President seeking a change in the design of Polavaram so that there was no transfer of areas.

"MPs of BJP and TDP should have opposed the Bill. Even though the Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha, the fight against it shall continue and modalities in this regard will be announced later. Legal luminaries and constitutional experts are being consulted," he said.

"In fact, the Polavaram design should have been changed instead of going ahead with the Bill and the issue could have been amicably settled," said the Chief Minister.
Polavaram, accorded national project status by the Centre and spread over two districts of Andhra Pradesh, is under construction and likely to be completed by 2018.
The Centre has argued that some villages and mandals of Telangana (Khammam district) need to be merged with AP to deal with resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by the project. Telangana had been opposing this.