Naidu-Reddy meeting: Well begun is half done

The chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, N Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy, have been sagacious in holding talks to end the disputes that have plagued the two states for the last 10 years. Ironically, a state formed on the basis of language had to be bifurcated under the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014. Division always creates problems, and these problems have remained unresolved for a decade. Though Naidu heads the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, and Reddy is a Congress leader, they have joined hands to address their differences at their first meeting in Hyderabad on June 6. Their meeting succeeded in creating a framework for dispute resolution. There will now be two committees: the first comprising the chief secretaries of the two states, and the second comprising the ministers concerned. If these two committees are unable to resolve an issue, it will be brought before the two chief ministers.

At the very first meeting, an agreement was reached to merge into Telangana five border villages currently with Andhra Pradesh, a task that can be accomplished only if the Centre promulgates an ordinance. There are areas in Telangana to which Andhra Pradesh has staked a claim for administrative and other reasons. Not all issues are easy to resolve. For instance, Telangana has been claiming Rs 24,000 crore as its share from the power assets held by Andhra Pradesh. Water sharing is another intractable issue that calls for deft handling by both states. Of course, this is not the first time that states have been bifurcated.  

When Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were formed, and before that, when Assam was divided several times, similar disputes cropped up and they were amicably resolved. One must not forget that while there are numerous water-sharing disputes between states, often court-appointed tribunals have found workable solutions. What this underscores is that there is no problem that cannot be resolved if approached with an open mind. Today, arbitration is a well-structured branch of law which students are keen to pursue because of the immense opportunities it provides. The principles of arbitration are the same for all disputes, which need to be settled with the least inconvenience to the parties concerned.