HYDERABAD: Telangana IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao has said that in the last six years the Centre has not supported any key projects in Telangana despite making promises in Parliament.
Even special incentives that were promised during the bifurcation of the state have not been delivered, he said and alleged that non-BJP states were getting step-motherly treatment from the Union government.
Addressing participants at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana Council event on Friday, KTR added that the Centre has reduced key initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India to mere slogans. State projects such as the Pharma City and Kakatiya Mega Textiles Park that would help boost self-reliance in certain sectors have got no support, the minister said.
“We were promised special incentives that would further create employment opportunities. It has been six-and-a-half-years, no special incentive has been given even though it has been mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. An Act is a statute… It is a law and if the government of India does not honour its promise made in Parliament, who will?” he asked.
Citing the example of the Defence Corridor project in Bundelkhand, he accused the Centre of diverting key projects to BJP-ruled states. “They are setting up at Bundelkhand, where there is no defence industry. It may be because UP has 80 Lok Sabha seats,” he said, adding that a state such as Telangana was ignored despite the existence of a mature defence ecosystem.
He said that despite repeated requests, the Centre has not been allocating additional electronics manufacturing clusters to Telangana.
“When it comes to high-speed rail, Hyderabad does not find a mention. Even the bullet train… unfortunately, it only goes to Gujarat.”
He also stated that the Centre went back on its promise to set up a rail coach factory at Kazipet despite the state allotting 150 acres for the project as against the requirement of 60 acres.
He pointed out that though Hyderabad is a major global vaccine hub, vaccine firms have to send the samples to Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh for testing. “Does the state government have to plead with you (Centre) to get a lab sanctioned, that too in the middle of the pandemic?” he said.