 "KCR wants Centre to transfer AP Bhavan land in Delhi to Telangana")
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao on Thursday requested Government of India to transfer the entire AP Bhavan property in Delhi to Telangana, stating that the land originally belonged to the erstwhile Hyderabad state under the Nizams.
It may be recalled that after the state bifurcation in June, 2014, the erstwhile AP Bhavan was divided between the two sibling states following which the same premises is now housing both Andhra Pradesh Bhavan and Telangana Bhavan.
Rao's request comes in the midst of an ongoing dispute with the sibling Andhra Pradesh, which has been demanding for a proportionate division of physical assets in common capital of Hyderabad citing the provisions of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
AP government had got a favorable judgement from the Supreme Court pertaining to a building premises that housed the erstwhile AP Higher Education Council on a similar line.
In a letter addressed to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, chief minister Rao said the erstwhile AP Bhavan as well as the Hyderabad House, which is now in possession of the Centre, were located on land bought by the government of Nizam of Hyderabad prior to the Indian Independence.
Since only the buildings at this site were constructed with the common resources of Andhra Pradesh, the government of Telangana will compensate the residuary state of AP to the extent of its share in the book value of these buildings in the ratio of population between the two states in exchange for the transfer of property, the chief minister said.
The erstwhile Government of Nizam of Hyderabad obtained a total of 18.18 acres of land in Delhi from Government of India in three bits in the years 1917, 1928 and 1936 on payment as per the records of the then Foreign and Political Department of Government of India. The Hyderabad House and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Bhavan are situated in these lands. Government of India later took over Hyderabad House and land in extents of 7.56 acres in Pataudi House and 1.21 acres in Nursing Institute was allotted to the then Government of Andhra Pradesh in lieu of this property, according to the letter.
The then State of Hyderabad remained as a separate state even after the Independence of India. It was eventually included in the Indian Union in 1948 and continued to exist as the state of Hyderabad until November, 1956 when it was merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh. Incidentally Andhra State did not exist then, as it was carved out of the erstwhile Madras State in October 1953 only, the letter said.
"Therefore, the property situated in Delhi, which belonged to the Nizam and subsequently to the Hyderabad State in the Union of India, should also be devolved to the state of Telangana and cannot be divided between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.This is particularly so in view of the fact that till 1956, there were two states namely Hyderabad and Andhra, who should have been having separate state bhavans. The property of Nizams would have been with the Hyderabad State and the Andhra State should have been allotted a land for setting up its bhavan immediately after its separation from the erstwhile state of Madras in October 1953, or else it should have had its share in the ratio of population in the property situated in New Delhi, belonging to the erstwhile State of Madras, now Tamil Nadu," Telangana chief minister argued.
