KTR refutes centre’s claims on ITIR project

HYDERABAD: IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday disputed the claims of Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Sanjay Dhotre that the Telangana government had not provided information on the location of the Information Technology and Investment Region (ITIR) project in the State. “We have  provided all the information. The Union Minister’s reply (in Lok Sabha) is factually incorrect,” Rama Rao said. 

Replying to a question by Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Sanjay Dhotre on Wednesday said in Lok Sabha that the State government had not furnished the required information on the ITIR. Taking serious exception to his reply, Rama Rao said: “We have sent the DPR and several reminders too in the last six years. But the Union Minister chose to mislead the House.” Rama Rao said it was very unfair on the part of the NDA government and the Telangana BJP leaders to blame the State government. 

KTR said the State government had made repeated requests to the Centre in this regard.The first time that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard was soon after the State of Telangana was formed in June, 2014. 

State Information Technology Minister KT Rama Rao said a detailed memorandum was also submitted on the project in September 2014. In 2016, he had met the then Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya and presented a detailed project report (DPR), in response to the latter’s comments that the Telangana government did not submit a project report. Rama Rao alleged that the intention to discontinue the ITIR project is very clear from the non-committal responses of the NDA government.