Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) convenor Prof. M. Kodandaram on Friday said that an all-party delegation would be sent to Delhi to negotiate on a special status for Telangana. A special policy to deal with the specific issues of Telangana is the need of the hour, he said.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘Industrial Development in Telangana: Problems and Prospects With Focus on Special Category Status’, Prof. Kodandaram said, “The mindset in Delhi is that Andhra region was hurt due to the bifurcation, which is not correct. Let them help the region but in the process, Telangana should not be neglected. We need a special policy that deals with specific issues of Telangana.”
Special focus and land allocation to micro and small industries, power allocation, and residential colonies near industries are among the issues to be included in the proposed vision document, according to him.
The industrialists in Telangana region should be prepared to move to districts and interiors to empower the region. The earlier governments could not motivate the industrialists to move to tier II and tier III regions due to poor infrastructure and lack of water and power, said former Minister for Major Industries, J. Geeta Reddy.
“We may not be as aggressive as Andhra people but if we are determined, we will achieve our objectives sooner or later - like how we could win Telangana. Focus on manufacturing sector will provide employment in scale, which is essential for Telangana region,” Ms. Geeta Reddy said.
Expressing fear that industries in Telangana may shift to residual Andhra Pradesh, founder chairman of Pennar Industries Limited, J.V. Nrupender Rao, said that the tax exemptions in that region would motivate industrialists from Telangana to shift out of the region. “Many of the major industrialists are from Andhra region. They may also shift their headquarters to that region to get tax sops. A major part of the revenue from the industrial segment may not come to Hyderabad,” he said. G. Vivek, Member of Parliament, Srinivas Ayyadevara, president, FAPCCI, P. Vivek, Additional Director, Vigilance & Enforcement, Rameshwara Rao, chairman, My Home Group and Sudheer Reddy, president, Telangana Industrialists Federation are among the dignitaries that took part in the event.
