Asifabad Border Villagers Stall Electoral Roll Revision Over Jurisdiction Dispute

On June 25, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was launched across Telangana, but the exercise quickly hit a roadblock in 14 border villages under four gram panchayats in Kerameri mandal of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district. Local residents in villages including Parandoli, Mukadamguda, Anthapur, and Bolapatar are refusing to cooperate with the survey until a long-pending territorial jurisdiction dispute between Telangana and Maharashtra is resolved.

According to Chief Electoral Officer C Sudarshan Reddy, efforts are underway to resolve the impasse. Following negotiations led by Kumuram Bheem Asifabad District Collector Haritha, residents of two of the villages have agreed to take part in the SIR exercise. Election officials are currently trying to persuade two other villages to join the revision process.

The territorial dispute dates back decades to the linguistic reorganisation of states. Originally, these villages were part of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. However, during the reorganisation process, disagreements arose over whether the villages should remain with Hyderabad State or become part of Maharashtra due to geographic and cultural considerations.

Following the formation of Maharashtra in 1960, the villages were integrated into the Jiwati taluk of Chandrapur district. This move was opposed by the then Andhra Pradesh government, which had been formed in 1956 through the amalgamation of Andhra and Hyderabad State. The Andhra Pradesh government argued that the villages belonged to its territory under Article 3 of the Constitution of India.

While subsequent committee findings and court rulings favoured Andhra Pradesh's claim, the Maharashtra government challenged these decisions in the Supreme Court. Because the dispute remains pending in the apex court, residents of these border villages have continued to hold voting rights and cast ballots in both states for decades.