Telangana, Andhra CMs hold talks, to set up panels to resolve pending issues

HYDERABAD: Heralding a new era of bonhomie between two Telugu neighbours, Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N Chandrababu Naidu, met in Hyderabad on Saturday for the first time and decided to resolve all pending issues between the two states through discussions.

To begin with, two high-level joint committees - one led by chief secretaries and another comprising ministers from both states - will be constituted. Saturday's meeting is of significance as Naidu is part of the NDA while his Telangana counterpart belongs to the INDIA bloc.

The two CMs met for close to two hours at Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule Praja Bhavan in Begumpet. At the meeting, Revanth sought the re-merging of five border villages into Telangana from AP and it was decided to write a letter to the Union home ministry seeking an ordinance in this regard.

Telangana deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka said all issues arising out of the AP State Reorganisation Act of 2014 and pending before the two states in the last 10 years have been discussed. "The officers' committee will meet within two weeks to find solutions. If matters are not resolved at their level, such issues will be discussed by the ministers' committee. Issues not resolved by the committee will be discussed again by both CMs," Vikramarka said Saturday.