The Telangana High Court made an important decision on Thursday regarding a disagreement between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh about power payments.
Back in August 2022, the Centre had instructed Telangana to pay around Rs 6,757 crore to Andhra Pradesh within 30 days.
This was for electricity charges and other debts.
The Centre’s order was based on the AP Reorganisation Act, which said Telangana owed Rs 3,441.78 crore as the main amount and Rs 3,315.14 crore as a late payment fee for electricity used between June 2, 2014, and June 10, 2017.
The Telangana power company, TSSPDCL, went to the High Court.They pointed out that there were agreements (PPAs) signed between power companies in Andhra Pradesh before 2014.
These agreements were meant to continue even after the states split, but Andhra Pradesh decided to stop them.They cancelled the agreements on June 16, 2014.
Andhra Pradesh asked the central government to help them get the money they believed they were owed.
Telangana’s power companies, TSGenco and TSTransco, also claimed they were owed money.They said TSGenco was owed Rs 4,774 crore, TSTransco was owed Rs 1,730 crore, and the distribution companies were owed Rs 11,324 crore from Andhra Pradesh.
The central government acknowledged these claims, but still told Telangana to pay Andhra Pradesh while the matter was being discussed.
But now, the Telangana High Court, led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe, has cancelled the Centre’s order.They stated that the orders shouldn’t have been given without first listening to Telangana’s side.
They believe it’s crucial to follow natural justice.
The court suggested that both sides try to settle the issue peacefully, maybe through mediation.
They hope that Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the power companies can work things out.
In summary, the Telangana High Court decided that the Centre’s order for Telangana to pay Andhra Pradesh a large sum of money was not fair.They believe both parties should talk and find a solution.
