Khammam district, the treasure trove of precious mineral wealth and potential power generation hub, is gearing up to play a critical role as a growth engine for spurring industrial development in the new State of Telangana.
The mineral-rich district stands out as the ideal destination for the investors to explore diverse areas of enormous industrial development potential such as mineral-based industries, agro-food processing projects, horticulture-based industries, pharmaceuticals, information technology and infrastructure sectors.
The district is blessed with enormous mineral resources such as coal, dolomite, iron ore, barytes, graphite, copper and quartz.
The proposed steel plant under public sector in the iron-ore rich mandal of Bayyaram is expected to generate employment for thousands of youths and facilitate setting up of ancillary units in Bayyaram and its adjoining tribal sub-plan mandals.
The district already occupies a prominent place on the industrial map of the State with major industrial giants dotting the landscape.
It has several major industries in both public and private sectors, including the Kothagudem-based Singareni Collieries Company Limited, the Nava Bharat Ventures Limited at Palvancha, the ITC Ltd's PSPD unit at Sarapaka and the Manuguru Heavy Water Plant.
The district has earned wide reputation for large-scale production and export of granite products such as slabs, tiles and monuments. There are over 900 granite factories, including tiles and slabs units, besides granite cutting and polishing units.
The Palvancha-based Kothagudem Thermal Power Station (KTPS) of the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited (TSGENCO) is another prized possession of the district.
With the TSGENCO drawing up ambitious plans to construct the proposed expansion project of KTPS -- super critical unit 12 (1X800 MW) of stage VII and 1,080 MW coal-based power plant in Manuguru mandal, the district is set to emerge as the leading power generation centre in the entire Telangana State.
Problems remainDespite the rosy scenario, deficiencies such as power shortage, lack of effective marketing support mechanism and shortage of industrial promotion officers continue to haunt several small and medium industries in the district.
The industrial parks in Thallada and Palvancha mandals are facing infrastructure deficiency, points out B. Madhu, district vice-president, CITU.
The government should focus on reviving the virtually defunct industrial parks and encourage enterprising youth to set up small and medium industries, he suggests.
A comprehensive action plan for industrial development in the district has been prepared for harnessing the district's tremendous industrial potential in diverse areas, says D. Srinivas Naik, General Manager, District Industries Centre.
It contains specific plans to develop paper industry cluster near Bhadrachalam, mineral-based cluster in Yellendu and Bayyaram mandals, aqua cluster in Kusumanchi mandal, pharma cluster at Thallada, IT & electronics cluster in Khammam corporation limits, apparel park at Tirumalayapalem, floriculture and horticulture cluster in Aswaraopet mandal and agro-food- based industrial cluster in Sattupalli and Aswaraopet mandals.
This apart, a granite cutting and polishing cluster is proposed to be established in Khammam rural and Mudigonda mandals.
Around 15,000 acres of government land is available in the district for setting up of industries by entrepreneurs. It is proposed to set up one industrial park in each revenue division and one mini industrial estate in each mandal, Mr. Naik says.
