State government making efforts to create jobs, Centre queering pitch: KTR

Hyderabad: Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Sunday lashed out at the Centre for never responding to several requests of the State government. He stated that while the State was making efforts to create employment to local youth, the Centre was spilling waters on the government's efforts.

The minister wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey demanding reopening of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) unit in Adilabad. He said there was immense scope to export cement not just to the Asian countries, but also to Africa in the coming ten years. He assured that all facilities and subsidies given to a new company would be provided to CCI, if re-opened.

"Many requests were made to Union Ministers Anand Geete and Mahendranath Pandey. Though we appealed to the Union government to take a positive decision on re-opening of CCI, they never responded. While Telangana is making efforts to create employment to local youth, the Union government is spilling water on the efforts of the State government," he claimed.

KTR said the cement manufacturers' associations, like ICRA and CRISIL see major construction activities in the country with Prime Minister Narendra Modi introducing the Gati Shakti Master Plan to strengthen the national highways. He said India stands at rank 2 in cement production. By increasing cement factories the country can retain its dominance in the international market.

Rao said there was 772 acres for setting up the unit in Adilabad. An additional 170 acres for the CCI township and 1,500 acres for 48 million tonnes of limestone deposits were available. There was enough water and 2 KVL electricity supply readily available for the unit. "Re-opening of CCI will not just help Telangana, but also neighbouring States like Maharashtra. Re-opening of CCI will help develop Adilabad in a big way. Mainly, new jobs will be created for local youth. I request the Union government to immediately re-open the unit," he said.

The minister highlighted that the Telangana government was attracting major investments through TS-iPASS policy. He said the government succeeded in bringing the Orient Cement unit to Devapur in Adilabad with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. The construction industry is on a boom in Telangana; the demand for cement would always be high. There is a growing demand for cement across the country. Private cement companies were making huge profits, he said.