CEO forum

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday asked the industry not to nurse fears of lack of peace in separate Telangana and said his party would take all steps to promote and protect industrialisation.

Asked to spell out his industrial policy for Telangana in the present scenario of uncertainty, Mr. Rao assured the India CEO forum of research body International Market Assessment (IMA) that peace was permanent in Telangana though the State was passing through a phase of uncertainty.

The situation arose only on account of integrated State, he said in his interaction with participants after making a presentation to them. Emphasising that peace had never been a casualty, Mr. Rao said the State witnessed a volatile situation since his hunger strike in December last which was the result of a counter agitation in coastal districts.

This was stated by TRS leaders who accompanied Mr. Rao to the meeting, which was out of bounds for the media. The TRS chief expressed his resolve to welcome investments but warned that there should be transparency in all transactions. The party would extend all concessions as per the law of land but expected the industry to cooperate in developing the area.

This was missing in the last five years when the industry claimed huge chunks of land and other benefits. Answering a question on the impact of naxalism on industry, he said the problem was a consequence of backwardness which had roots in neglect of Telangana in the integrated State. The problem would die down like in Jagtial, once a disturbed area, where canal water made all the difference.

The answer to naxalism was development which was bound to be faster in Telangana which had rich natural resources. In this context, he referred to Planning Commission reports suggesting higher rate of growth in Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand than their parent States. Smaller the unit, greater the growth, he added.

Mr. Rao dismissed the proposal of Hyderabad as a Union Territory saying it was thoughtless and would not be accepted at any cost. After all, Mumbai did not go to Gujarat when that State was carved out. To a question on the likely developments after December 31, he said the New Year would herald the emergence of separate Telangana as the Srikrishna Committee would submit a positive report on Statehood.

His interaction was followed by a power point presentation by his son and Sircilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao. Prof. K. Jayashankar and Mr. Rao later answered questions from the participants.