Andhra works overtime for June 2 deadline

With the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation date nearing, the state administration has been working overtime to meet the June 2 deadline.

To avoid hiccups, the administration has decided to start functioning as two independent states from May 26 itself.

The busiest department is the Road Transport Authority.

All vehicles registered in the Telangana region, including Hyderabad, will have three years time to change the registration.

Currently, all vehicle registrations bear the initials ‘AP’. The new registration would be ‘TG’.

Those who have purchased new vehicles have been asked to put the registration process on hold until June 2.

Vehicles registered in Rayalseema and Andhra regions will continue to bear the ‘AP’ registration.

Meanwhile, trial runs in the administrative process will be held between May 26 and June 2.

The administration would function differently for both the states. The staff of both states will sit in different buildings‎.

An officer informed that they do not want any confusion at the last minute.

‘We have even started issuing new identification cards to the employees of the two states,’ he said.

While Telangana will have 49 IAS officers, 106 assistant secretaries and 81 joint secretaries, Andhra Pradesh will have 53 IAS officers, 98 joint secretaries and 114 assistant secretaries.

‎The chief ministers of the two states will function out of Hyderabad.

The existing chief minister's office in the C block of the secretariat has been allotted to the Telangana chief minister.

The Andhra chief minister will function from the H- North block.‎

The decision regarding the two assemblies in yet to be finalised.