Congress vows to remerge 5 border villages in Telangana from AP

Hyderabad: The Congress party in its “special” Lok Sabha poll manifesto for Telangana promised to remerge 5 villages near Bhadrachalam town to Telangana from Andhra Pradesh if the party comes to power at the Centre.

The villages are Yetapaka, Gundala, Purushottam Patnam, Kannegudam and Pichukalapadu and the residents of these five gram panchayats located on the Andhra Pradesh border have been fighting to merge with Telangana, despite the BJP-led Union government’s decision to incorporate them into Andhra Pradesh during the state bifurcation in 2014.

The five villages that were previously in the Khammam district were incorporated into Andhra Pradesh due to the transfer of seven revenue blocks to Andhra Pradesh.

This transfer was initiated because these villages are situated in areas that would be submerged by the Polavaram irrigation project on the Godavari river.

The villagers from five villages near Bhadrachalam, previously part of East Godavari district and now in Alluri Sitarama Raju district, AP, have been demanding to merge with Telangana due to their proximity to Bhadrachalam town.

The 2014 decision to merge these villages in Andhra Pradesh has been a bone of contention between state governments and political parties in both states.

With the Congress party seeking to regain its foothold in Andhra Pradesh, it will be interesting to see how the party will balance out political interests in both states.

The TPCC – National Manifesto Dissemination Committee (NMDC) is led by its chairman D Sridhar Babu, AICC Telangana in charge Deepa Dasmunshi released the manifesto named ‘Paanch Nyay and Special Promises to Telangana’, for the Lok Sabha polls to the 17 seats in Telangana, which would be held on May 13.

Along with ‘Hissedari Nyay’ (Equality), ‘Kisan Nyay’ (Justice for Farmers), ‘Shramik Nyay’ (Justice for Labourers), ‘Yuva Nyay’ (Justice for Youth), and ‘Naari Nyay’ (Justice for Women), the party announced 23 ‘Special promises to Telangana’.

The special guarantees for the state aimed at showcasing the significance that the state holds for the grand old party, in its electoral battle against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Other promises in the ‘special’ manifesto

• Reinstatement of the ITIR (Information Technology and Investment Region) project

• A railway coach factory in Khazipet, a steel factory in Bayyaram, an IIM in Hyderabad, Rapid Rail transit system running parallel to the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, promised as per the AP bifurcation act-2014.

• A mining university
• National project status to Palamuru-Rangareddy
• A regional office of the NITI Aayog in Hyderabad
• Establishment of new airports
• A new railway line between Ramagundam-Manuguru
• 4 new Sainik schools
• Increase in the number of central universities in the state
• A double increase in Navodaya schools
• A national sports university
• Establishment of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
• Establishment of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)
• Establishment of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)
• Establishment of the National Aviation University
• Establishment of a central lab for modern medical research under the Indian Council For Medical Research (ICMR)
• Transfer of central funds directly to gram panchayats as per the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Indian Constitution
• Solar electricity connections to every household
• Establishment of Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Nagpur, Hyderabad-Warangal, Hyderabad-Nalgonda-Miryalaguda and Singareni industrial corridors
• Establishment of an International Cultural and Entertainment Hub
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• National status to Sammakka Saarakka tribal festival
• Establishment of a dry port
• Establishment of a Supreme Court bench in Hyderabad