Andhra minorities panel to function in both states

The Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Commission will function in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, an official said Tuesday.

As the panel has been included in the 10th schedule in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, it will be active in both the newly created Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh.

Though the commission is under the administrative control of the Telangana government, it will function in the other state as well, said commission chairman Abid Rasool Khan.

The two states will have separate minorities panels only after parliament amends the act.

Khan told reporters that they will visit districts in both states, especially in Andhra Pradesh where there is not a single Muslim minister, to give a feeling to the minorities that the panel is alive to their problems.

The commission's office moved outside the state secretariat to an independent building near Raj Bhavan.

The chairman, who completed a year in office recently, said they would open next week a separate cell to guide students from minority communities about professional courses and scholarships.

The cell will also provide assistance for applying for bank loans and ration cards.

The seven-member panel will submit its annual report to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.