Andhra, Telangana refuse to let go of Delhi RC Bungalow, despite division
- Telangana officials claim the RC Bungalow after division of assets belongs to them
- Telangana has argued that the building and its assets are historically theirs
- Andhra Pradesh is not willing to concede and says the building belongs to them
FollowA new state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, but the tensions exist far beyond boundaries and dams. The war between Telangana and AP has moved on to buildings as well.
In New Delhi, on Ashoka Road, stands the Andhra Bhavan and right next to it is a board which proclaims it as the Telangana Bhavan. The argument between the two states is who gets to call the Bhavan their own. According to a report in the TOI, Telangana officials lodged a complaint of trespassing against AP officials in the Tilak Marg police station after they broke the lock put by them. They even videographed the occurrence and claim that despite the division of assets AP officials are trying to use Telangana’s half as well.
The building is called the Resident Commissioner’s Bungalow (RC). In June last year, according to a report in PTI, the Telangana government wrote to the Centre to transfer to it the entire land currently in possession of Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi, saying the estate belonged to the erstwhile state of Hyderabad.
Also read:Government employees can choose Telangana or Andhra: HC
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wrote a letter to the Union Home Ministry seeking transfer of the land and expressed readiness to compensate Andhra Pradesh. "Therefore, while bringing these facts to your kind notice in a historical perspective, it is requested that the entire land presently in possession of AP Bhavan be transferred to the Government of Telangana, as it belonged to the erstwhile state of Hyderabad," Rao said in the letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The letter went on to detail how the AP Bhavan and Telangana Bhavan are situated originally belonged to the erstwhile government of Nizam (before Independence). These properties belonged to the then state of Hyderabad under the rule of VI Nizam, which remained a separate state even after the independence of India. It was eventually included in the Union in 1948.
The Andhra state did not exist then as it was carved out of erstwhile Madras state only in 1953, whereas the state of Hyderabad continued to exist as such from 1948 until November, 1956.
In January, this year, the State government's chief advisor Rajiv Sharma and Telangana Chief Secretary SP Singh attended a high-level meeting called by Union home ministry on division of AP Bhavan and assets listed in Schedule X of the AP Reorganisation Act.
 Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had agreed to amicably divide assets and institutions in the 58:42 ratio on the basis of population. At that point also the Andhra Bhavan was still an issue of contention. While Telangana still wants total control saying that historically it is theirs, Andhra is willing to share provided they follow the 58:42 division.
State Bhavans in New Delhi, all government properties, serve as guest houses of sorts for politicians and officials visiting the national capital.
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