Seemandhra secretariat employees staging a protest in Hyderabad against the creation of Telangana

In 20 days, the cabinet will consider a note or resolution that details how Telangana will be carved out of Andhra Pradesh to make it India's 29th state, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said today.Sources say that the ministry is considering a proposal to convert the IT hub of Hyderabad into a Union Territory; so far, the government has said that it will be a shared capital between the old and new state for 10 years, with it resting with Telangana after that."Wider consultations are required," said a source in the Home Ministry. The tug-of-war over Hyderabad rests in its bustling economy."We are preparing a note to pass a resolution in the Cabinet. After we finalise the note, it will be sent to the Law Ministry for legal vetting. I hope the note will be presented before the Cabinet within 20 days," the minister said.After the cabinet clears the resolution, a Group of Ministers will be assigned to examine concerns on how to divide water, electricity and revenue between Telangana and the two other regions of Andhra Pradesh - Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema - referred to as 'Seemandhra.'Sources said that given wide protests in Seemandhra over the bifurcation of the state, the government has changed its original plan to send the resolution to the Andhra Pradesh state legislature for feedback before the cabinet studies the plan.Eventually, the government will introduce a bill to create a Telangana state; both houses of Parliament will have to pass the bill by a simple majority .

The monsoon session of Parliament, which expires on Friday, is witnessing strong protests by law-makers from the Seemandhra; their near-daily disruptions have forced repeated adjournments of parliament.