The Centre is in a tizzy over an imminent release of the 5-member justice (retd) B N Srikrishna committee report on carving a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, three days ahead of the promised submission to the Home Ministry on December 31 at 5 pm. Centre on Monday issued strict warnings to 48 Telugu news channels and 4800 cable operators in Andhra Pradesh to obey the Cable Operators Act 1995.

National Broadcasting Association has come out with 20-point guidelines while telecasting sensitive issues on Srikrishna Committee report.

Union home secretary GK Pillai held a high level meeting to review the post submission of Telangana report to government. Raghu Menon Information Broadcasting secretary was in constant touch with AP government to issue instructions for the Telugu TV news channels.

Speculation became rife here on Monday about the report's release as the 69-year old former Supreme Court judge Srikrishna sought an appointment of the committee with the home minister P Chidambaram at noon on Tuesday and later in the day addressed the media persons at Ambedkar hall of Andhra Bhawan.

Messages went out to the media that the full bench of the Srikrishna Committee, which includes Prof. Ranbir Singh, Abusaleh Shariff, Ravinder Kaur and member-secretary Vinod K Duggal, a former home secretary, would like an interaction with the media.

The government is totally non-plus, unable to find out what justice Srikrishna wants to do by meeting the media as it may trigger an immediate law and order problem in Andhra Pradesh even if he does not release the report on Tuesday but responds to tricky questions, particularly when Andhra Pradesh is already on the boil over past one week in expectation of the committee report.

Discreet inquiries were made from Duggal by the government on Monday, but he played ignorance on what justice Srikrishna intends to do on Tuesday, except that he was directed to schedule a meeting with Chidambaram and later with the media persons. Only two weeks ago, he had informed the home ministry on behalf of the chairman that the final report will be submitted on Friday.

"All the security arrangements we have planned will be effective only on December 31, the day the report is to be received by the Centre from the committee constituted early this year. These will go fit if the report or any indication about the report is out on Tuesday," a top home ministry official rued, pointing out that the timing earlier agreed for submission of the report would have ensured no trouble at least for two days as it comes at 5 pm when the offices close and then there are holidays on January 1 and 2.

Last week the home secretary had chaired a high-level meeting of six secretaries to the government and the Railway Board chairman to chalk out measures for handling the possible law and order fallout of the committee findings as there may be strikes, bandhs and even violence. The chief secretary and the director general of police of Andhra Pradesh also participated in the meeting.

Sources said the Information and Broadcasting secretary was specially called at the meeting to discuss and ensure that the electronic media does not play up the report and speculates on it, triggering trouble in Andhra Pradesh. The government wants media reporting to be handled in a similar manner on which the Ayodhya judgement was tackled without any violence anywhere.

The state government has been told to make use of the Cable Operators Act of 1995 to cancel licences of the operators who telecast the Telangana committee report sensationally and seal their communication headquarters. There are over 5000 cable operators in Andhra Pradesh. Besides 48 Telugu channels, there are many entertainment channels that will be kept under close scrutiny as they usually telecast public meetings and news that are not allowed under the law. The district magistrates must act against them, the state government has been told.