Hyderabad, December 11: Former Minister & ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir alleged that the TRS Government was attempting to sell off prime land of 11 Industrial Parks in and around Hyderabad to private companies in the name of IT Parks.
Shabbir Ali, in a media statement on Friday, pointed out that the ITE&C Department issued G.O. Ms. No. 16 on 10th December 2020 for guidelines on Hyderabad GRID (Growth In Dispersion) Policy. The State Government wants to convert 11 Industrial Parks within the ORR into IT Parks. They include industrial parks located at Kukatpally, Gandhinagar, Balanagar, Uppal, Nacharam, Mallapur, Moula Ali, Patancheru, Ramachandrapuram, Sanathnagar and Katedan. “This is not the conversion of industrial parks into IT parks. But an attempt to grab the prime land of the industrial park to hand it over to friends of IT Minister K. Tarakarama Rao at throwaway prices,” he alleged.
The Congress leader said that the previous Congress Government had issued G.O.Ms.No.20 through Industries & Commerce Dept on 1st March 2013 for shifting of Polluting Industries compulsorily and non-polluting industries optionally from within the Outer Ring Road to outside the ORR and detailed guidelines were also issued. However, on 20th January 2018, Telangana Govt issued G.O.MS No. 4 amending GO Ms No. 20 to permit certain industries located within ORR. “The State Government issued GO MS No 16 on Thursday to convert entire industrial parks into IT parks. There is no clarity on the existing units in these 11 industrial parks,” he said.
Shabbir Ali said that thousands of small and medium industries have been functioning in these industrial parks for several decades. “Those industries are employing lakhs of skilled and unskilled workers. Many units were temporarily closed down due to an unplanned lockdown in view of the Covid-19 situation. Instead of taking measures to revive those industries, TRS Govt wants to shut down those industries permanently,” he alleged.
The Former Minister alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao was trying to take away lakhs of jobs by issuing a single GO. “KCR Govt wants to displace thousands of small industries to benefit a few dozen IT companies. It wants to eliminate 100 other jobs just to create one job in the IT sector. The GRID Policy has nothing to do with employment generation. This is purely a real estate project aimed at benefitting friends of IT Minister KTR,” he alleged.
Shabbir Ali demanded that the State Government issued a White Paper on existing units in 11 Industrial Parks, their landholdings and the number of employees engaged by them, both on a direct and indirect basis. The State Government should also explain how existing industries would be shifted to outside ORR and what would happen to the existing employees, he said.
He said that the TRS Govt was giving a vague justification for the conversion of industrial parks into IT parks. The State Government says that about 30% of the IT Talent pool resides in the Eastern part of the city and commutes to the Western IT Corridor located in Madhapur, Kondapur, Gachibowli, and Nanakramguda on a daily basis. Further, a large part of the IT workforce resides in the northern parts of the city including Kompally, Bahadurpally, Bachupally, Dundigal, etc., This, according to the State Government, has led to overall city congestion and an increase in commuting time for the IT employees. “This is a common phenomenon in all metros. People travel from one part of the city to another to do a job. Is the State Government trying to say that the IT companies would shift their offices to Eastern Corridor just because 30% of employees reside in that region,” he said.
Shabbir Ali said that the State Government had furnished figures of 2019-20 to claim growth in the IT Sector. It deliberately ignored the fact that lakhs of jobs were lost in the IT Sector due to Covid-19 since March 2020. He said that the State Govt did nothing to help the IT professionals who lost their jobs during the lockdown period. Now it wants to grab thousands of acres of prime land in Hyderabad in the name of creating IT jobs, he alleged.