Telangana government is weighing options such as land pooling, reclassification and even downsizing to go ahead with the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) project in Medak district.
The focus is on giving shape to the only NIMZ in the State as early as possible – the other two approved by the previous UPA government are in residual Andhra Pradesh – and ready it for showcasing as a destination to industrial investors.
The State government is toying with the idea of kick-starting the project on lands it owns – less than one-third of the originally conceived extent. About 3,800 acres of the 12,600 acres identified for NIMZ in Medak, is government land. The rest is patta land, necessitating acquisition at higher costs.
“Without touching the private land for now, we want to start work with government land,” a senior official tasked with industrial development in Telangana said.
Behind the sense of urgency is not just the significance of new, developed areas to host manufacturing units but the uncertainty surrounding the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill.Beyond that it is worry of the impact of high compensation package on the project’s financials. Irrespective of the fate that befalls various other components of the Bill, it is unlikely that the ruling NDA will revise the package proposed by the previous regime. Given that the compensation will be multiple times over, “it is impossible to find that kind of money,” the official declared, adding that at this rate, the cost of over 8,500 acres could well be Rs.1,500 crore.
Hence, the State government, for the remaining land, will evaluate the land pooling system on the lines of those adopted for the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. Making farmers who part with their land shareholders in the project is another option.
It is also hoping that the Narendra Modi government reviews the land requirement norms for NIMZ and reduces the threshold limit. If needed, Telangana could also see reclassification of the Medak project to one under the Regional Investment Manufacturing Zone, the official said.
Unless the way forward is well laid, attracting an anchor client – around whom much of the industrial activity in the giant industrial Greenfield townships would revolve – will not be an easy task.
Idea behind it is to showcase the State as a destination for industrial investors
