Centre’s Statement of Scrapping ITIR Project for Hyderabad is shameful:KTR

IT and Industries Minister KT Rmarao strongly opposed the statement of Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar who in the Parliament stated that the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project for Hyderabad stands scrapped. 

The Minister for IT came down heavily on the union government for claiming to have granted other projects that are on par to compensate for the ITIR Project. They have cheated the people of the country yet again, KTR said. 

It is in their (BJP party) DNA to easily lie about anything and MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar has effortlessly done the same now, said KTR. 

Minister KTR stated that the Modi Govt has scrapped the ITIR project because TRS is politically opposing them. They are indulging in cheap politics, he added. 

KTR stated that Telangana IT sector lost a great opportunity to further grow with the scrapping of ITIR Project adding that there's no contribution from the Union Govt. in the tremendous growth story of the IT Sector of Hyderabad. 

The Union Govt. in 2008 proposed the ITIR project for Hyderabad and approved the same in 2013. However, the Modi Govt. has proved to be a curse on Telangana as it shelved the project just like some other Projects and the promises made in AP Reorganisation Act, said KTR. 

Minister KTR mentioned that he along with CM KCR has made multiple pleas to PM Modi and other Union Ministers in their every visit to New Delhi. There is no positive response even after continuous persuasion from our side, he said. 

Minister KTR also stated that after witnessing the inaction of the Modi Govt., he gave multiple representations to announce any scheme that would boost Hyderabad IT sector, on the lines of ITIR Project. Not a single penny was sanctioned for Hyderabad’s IT sector, he added. 

Minister KTR said the State's IT sector has registered a higher growth rate than India's total IT growth withstanding the adverse economic conditions forced on the country due to thoughtless, unwise decisions of demonetization, lockdown and overall policy paralysis. He also added that Telangana’s IT ecosystem would have grown leaps and bounds had the ITIR been implemented. 

KTR demanded the Modi Govt to apologize to the youth of Telangana for failing to deliver the promises he made. He also said that the BJP has no proper policy for skilling and job creation in the country.  KTR also demanded the Prime Minister to explain the loss incurred to Hyderabad due to scrapping of the ITIR project. 

KTR stated that it was incorrect on the part of the union government to say that the ITIR was scrapped because the latter had sanctioned smart cities and industrial corridors to Telangana. He ridiculed the BJP government for claiming to have scrapped a project dedicated for IT Sector development in lieu of other non-IT Projects. Telangana State did not benefit even from the schemes that the Union Govt. claims to have extended, KTR said. This shows the intellectual bankruptcy of Modi government, he added.

BJP-governed states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh receive huge funds under various central schemes. But when it comes to Telangana, every penny is counted and shown as a reason to scrap projects, said KTR. What has the Modi Govt given to Hyderabad as a replacement for the ITIR project? PM Modi must answer, said KTR. 

Though the people of Telangana are fuming at the injustices meted out to the State by the BJP Govt, the Prime Minister has turned a blind's eye to these protests. 

Recently the union government sanctioned software parks to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Punjab, Jharkhand, Kerala. Then why didn't they sanction one to Telangana as well?, KTR asked. He also mentioned that the Modi Govt. did not even give a penny for the world’s largest innovation campus T-Hub. 

KTR said that the IT Sector in the State is growing at a rapid pace under the leadership of CM KCR. BJP not sanctioning software park to Telangana despite its tremendous performance shows BJP's partisanship towards Telangana and its people, he added. 

At least now the Center must sanction a project or package to Telangana as compensation for scrapping the ITIR project, demanded KTR.