While the Telangana movement spawned massive protests and law and order issues in the 1960s, and more recently when the latest round of struggle started in 2009, the twin issues have come to haunt Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh (together called Seemandhra) regions now. Though there was a Jai Andhra movement back in 1972, the intensity is much more this time: first over the very issue of bifurcation, and then over the Congress party’s decision to make Hyderabad the capital of the proposed Telangana state after 10 years of administrative and infrastructure arrangements to build a new capital for Seemandhra.

Though there are wide-ranging debates about the socio-economic impact of this decision along with political debates, administrative or governance-related issues are not getting much attention. Some fundamental questions arise when we consider issues related to governance:

• How difficult or easy would governing the proposed state be?
• What are the major challenges for politicians/administrators of the proposed state?
• How feasible will it be for the politicians and bureaucrats to adapt to this changed situation?
• Can we draw a prototype with any other state in India?
• What should be the basic lessons the proposed state must learn from governance-related experiences of other newly created states, such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand?
• What will be the administrative difficulties and conflict redress mechanisms required to reach an agreement on crucial issues such as river water sharing and other resource-sharing between Telangana and Andhra?

Answers to these questions will be the future roadmap for the twin states to achieve development and stability. Though we will be able to find similar situations during the creation of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, we should read the bifurcation of AP in a much deeper historical and cultural context.

Challenges in governance

The proposed 29th state will comprise eight Telangana districts and two districts of Rayalaseema region as per the approved recommendation of the Congress working committee. With a population of about 35 million, Telangana, once it comes into effect, will be of the size of the 33rd largest nation in the world.

Significantly, barring Hyderabad, the nine other districts of Telangana are identified as ‘backward districts’ of AP (identified by the Centre for inclusion in backward regions grant fund, or BRGF, for the current financial year). Connecting these underdeveloped areas to the joint capital of Hyderabad will be a major responsibility. Development of rural infrastructure and connectivity will also be a Herculean task for administrators. Hyderabad is relatively more accessible for the districts of Telangana compared to those of Seemandhra. Thus, the reach of administrators in the new state, when it is formed, to the grassroots level can be ensured better – that reach, and narrowing of distance between citizens and governments, is, in fact, the basic logic behind creating smaller states.

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The advantage of small and manageable population and area of a small state cannot be neglected. The greater demands of the protesters – such as employment and better resource allocation, among others – can be achieved through a focussed administrative arrangement of a state like Telangana, which evolved through a historical demand. 

Besides, service delivery mechanisms can be improved due to the reduced conflicts and law and order issues in the new state.

There were massive violations in the six-point formula of 1973 in the past in matters of recruitment and reservations for people from Telangana region. This can be solved by the creation of Telangana, with people from the region gaining from creation of new employment opportunities and a transparent recruitment process.

The other point of debate, and much more serious, is that the shared capital Hyderabad will be located in Telangana and will be far away from most Andhra districts. This will definitely cause administrative conflicts between the two states – including on issues about accessibility to Hyderabad and the emerging inconveniences. While both states may get into the battlefield to establish their right on Hyderabad, as it is the core area of contradiction, this can be avoided through careful interventions and planning.    

Big task for administrators

But the new state will be much dependent on the Centre for funds and other assistance, as it would be at a nascent stage. This dependence may itself reduce autonomy of the state in developmental planning and governance. Initial administrative problems may also lead to difficulties in potential revenue mobilisation.

Economists emphasise that fiscal consolidation will be the primary task for Telangana to successfully pass through this transition period. This is mainly dependent on the coordinated work of bureaucrats and politicians. 

Development of Hyderabad in terms of physical infrastructure, drinking water, educational and health facilities, traffic control, etc. needs to be the immediate highlight of the state’s development agenda. Agriculture and industrial development is the key for the sustainability of a state; thus, conscious and careful planning in developing irrigation facilities will be the primary task for the new government and its administrators.

The state should also look at the possibility of tank irrigation and promotion of crops that need less irrigation. Connecting the hinterlands of Telangana to its district headquarters by strengthening road links is very important for better and speedy service delivery and grievance redress. Continuous and low-cost power supply will be the key for industrial and agricultural production of the state.    

What needs to be done

While most politicians will be able to handle the changed situation easily and quickly being part of the pro-Telangana movement for years, power clashes between and within these political parties will be a challenge. But the babus will be the worst sufferers in this phase of transition.

Adopting an optimum staffing pattern and legislature size will be both economical and feasible for Telangana, as a lean and efficient government will best serve the purpose. While a decentralised government structure will help eliminate administrative difficulties and corruption, to achieve this goal, the new state should strengthen its panchayathi raj institutions and materialise participatory democracy to address real needs of the people.

Teaching the lessons of good governance at the origin will be the way to make administrators adapt with the situation. This can build a strong foundation for governance.      

Lessons from the past

History tells us that sharing resources is the major bone of contention between states. Of them, river water sharing is the most fiercely contested issue. As Telangana region has a history of conflict over resource sharing with costal Andhra, there is a possibility that this issue will be aggravated once the new state comes into being.

Sharing water of Godavari and Krishna rivers will be at the centre of this conflict. Telangana is a very backward region and is relatively less irrigated than Seemandhra districts.

When the question on Telangana gathered momentum recently, all eyes were focussed on Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, carved out of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively, at the dawn of the millennium.

What is optimistic for proponents of Telangana is the fact that in past smaller states created by bifurcating bigger ones did perform well in some major areas than their mother states – on the development and economic growth front especially (refer to “Governance holds key, size is only secondary”, Subodh Varma, The Times of India, Nov 18, 2011). This is mainly due to largescale central assistance and their resource abundance.

But there are also key areas where the new, smaller states lagged. These include political stability, administrative capability, socio-political accountability and intra-regional equality, among others. Starting afresh with limitations will be more of a question of how Telangana manages itself. It’s complex and interesting at the same time.