Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday declared there would be no power cuts in the State from May this year. Speaking at the first annual meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industries-Telangana here, he gave his ‘personal guarantee’ to the industry honchos in his bid to dispel fears over possible power woes this summer.
“There could be minor disruptions during March-end and the beginning of April, when agriculture load is at its peak. But from May, I assure all industries that there will be no power cuts. If you (industries) face a power cut from May, you can directly call me up on my toll-free number,” Rao said.
Pointing out that land, power, water and a clean bureaucracy are essential for industrial growth, he said, “We have all these in Telangana and they are synchronised well. The government has worked out short-term and long-term plans to ensure that the State enjoys a comfortable position with regard to power supply by 2016 and becomes a power surplus State by end-2017.”
He said the State has a thermal power production capacity of 4,320 MW. “We will have a capacity of 7,729 MW by end of 2015, 10509 MW by end of 2016, 11345 MW by end of 2017 and 20,633 MW by 2018. Besides, there is a capacity of 2400 MW of hydel and 2000 MW of solar power.”
He detailed his vision of establishing an electronic hardware park, textile park, pharma city and university etc and the ambitious Telangana Water Grid. “Ten per cent of water, not raw but treated, will be reserved for industries.” Explaining about the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval And Self-Certification System (TS-iPASS), Rao assured hassle-free processing of applications for industrial projects. “All permissions will be granted within 15 days. Chasing cell at the CMO will do all the processing and I myself will give the envelope of approvals within the stipulated time,” Rao said.
The State earmarked 2.5 lakh acres for industries, of which 1.4 lakh acres can be used immediately.
Industries minister Jupally Krishna Rao, CII-TS chairperson Vanitha Datla, CII-South deputy chairperson Rajshree Pathy, former CII-South chairman BVR Mohan Reddy spoke.
Source: The New Indian Express