Bill increasing Andhra legislative council strength passed

Parliament on Friday passed a bill providing for raising the number of members of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council from 50 to 58.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015 amends the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 that provided for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into the successor states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The act had addressed the representation of the states in parliament, separate legislative assemblies and legislative councils for both states, role of the governor, revenue distribution, distribution of cash and credit balances, management and development of water resources, and creation of separate cadres for administrative, police and forest services.

It provided that two legislative councils shall be constituted, one for Andhra Pradesh with up to 50 members, and another for Telangana with up to 40 members.

The bill passed on Friday amends this provision with regard to the legislative council of Andhra Pradesh to allow for up to 58 members.

The bill got the approval of Rajya Sabha on Friday, while the Lok Sabha had passed it on Tuesday.