Telangana: Congress government ignores construction of IT Towers at Kandlakoya, Malakpet
The previous BRS government had conceived them under its Growth in Dispersion policy and foundations were also laid for the two IT towers
Hyderabad: It could be apathy or an attempt to wipe out imprints of the previous government, but the construction of the proposed IT Towers at Malakpet and Kandlakoya has been put on the back burner by the Congress government.
The previous BRS government, under its Growth in Dispersion (GRID) policy, had envisaged diversification of the establishment of IT companies to different areas in the city and beyond. Accordingly, two IT towers, one at Malakpet and Kandlakoya, were conceived and foundations were also laid, but ever since the Congress government came to power, the works have been stalled.
The foundation for the Kandlakoya IT tower was laid by former IT Minister KT Rama Rao in February 2022. The Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) had floated tenders and a company had secured the bids.
The plan was to develop the tower on over eight acres at Survey no 125 at Kandlakoya village, Medchal Malkajgiri district. As per terms, within 30 months from the appointed date at least 13,80,000 sq ft of saleable area, including IT/ITeS office space and non-IT space was to be developed.
In the non-IT space, retail, hospitality, and residential spaces besides parking areas were to be developed. The estimated project cost for achieving the Minimum Development Obligation was Rs 500 crore.
However, the work was getting delayed for reasons better known to the authorities. Kompally IT Entrepreneurs Association (KITEA) has been raising the issue with IT Minister D Sridhar Babu and other officials, but things continue to get delayed at the ground level.
“We are very upset with the way the Kandlakoya IT Park is being handled by the government. Apart from providing jobs to over 30,000 youth, the park would generate indirect employment to one lakh people,” KITEA president Oruganti Venkateswarlu said.
The IT Park was being developed in a strategic location with connectivity to tier II and III cities. Once operational, it would emerge as the HITEC City of North Hyderabad and spur further growth in the region, he said. It was not just the Kandlakoya IT tower, work on the Malakpet IT tower too is being neglected.
The foundation for the tower was laid by Rama Rao and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on October 2, 2023. In fact, the Hyderabad MP and other MLAs had raised the issue over the delay in taking up the works at Malakpet. Though the government had assured to expedite the work, nothing concrete happened at the ground level.
Interestingly, Sridhar Babu had in January announced two IT new parks similar to HITEC City in the suburban areas. But the ones for which foundations were laid are being ignored.