The chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would officially meet for the first time in three years on June 28, to discuss water issues.
Hyderabad: The chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be meeting on June 28, for the first time in as many as three years. This to sort out differences related to water issues.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and the then Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu had met in Hyderabad for a meeting convened by then Union water resources minister Uma Bharti to discuss Krishna and Godavari river water related issues and various projects concerning the two water bodies.
Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP swept to power in the recently held Assembly polls, handing Naidu a crushing defeat.
The bonhomie between KCR and Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was sworn-in as Andhra Pradesh chief minister last month, is quite evident amid signs of a thaw in relations between the two states.
The Andhra Pradesh chief minister who had earlier opposed the Kaleshwari Irrigation project, even attended the inauguration of it. K Chandrasekhar Rao had also attended the swearing-in ceremony of Jagan Mohan Reddy as chief minister.
"It will be the first official meeting after three years between the two chief ministers on water issues. As there is a cordial atmosphere between the two states, contentious issues are expected to be sorted out amicably. The meeting on water issues will be held on June 28 and both Jagan and KCR are expected to hold a one-on-one meeting," a source told PTI.
A meeting between senior officials of irrigation departments of both the states was supposed to be held on June 24 but did not take place as Jagan Mohan Reddy held a conference of district collectors on that day in Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati.
"The meeting (on June 28) will be mainly on water issues (between the states)," AP Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam said.
KCR and Jagan Mohan Reddy met on different occasions during the past one month, during which they are believed to have held informal discussions on several issues.
The proposed meeting on June 28 would be the first official one between the two to discuss the contentious issues, sources added. Several issues arising out of the 2014 bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, remain unresolved between the two Telugu-speaking states.
Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government had recently handed over its buildings located in the secretariat to its Telangana counterpart paving way for the latter to go ahead with the construction of a new one in the location.
According to a White Paper released by the Andhra Pradesh government in December last year, assets worth Rs 1.97 lakh crore, related to government companies and corporations and state institutions, listed under Schedules IX and X of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 are yet to be distributed between the two states.
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