Self-certification is a trump card for Telangana govt

Hyderabad: The self-certification system introduced by the TS government for granting approvals to set up new industries has worked wonders. TS has created a record of sorts by attracting 2,300 industries and companies within a year of the self-certification system being launched. The system is aimed at doing away with red tape and inspector raj. Investments worth nearly Rs 30,000 crore have come into the state, providing employment for 1.30 lakh.

The speed of approvals, within 15 days, has resulted in more than half of the industries already beginning commercial production in their units. Soon after formation of Telangana state in June 2014, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao visited Singapore and Malaysia to study the policies adopted by these countries to attract investments. The method of self-certification and granting approvals with ‘zero-graft’ in a time-bound manner in these countries attracted the CM’s attention.

Based on this, the TS government drafted its new industrial approval policy TS-iPASS (Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System). The Legislative Assembly approved making it as an Act in November 2014 to accord Constitutional and legal backing to self-certification system. This increased confidence among investors, who have been approaching the government to set up industries and companies in the state since then.

After it was made an Act, the government took almost eight months to formally launch the online approval system in June 2015 after conducting several trial runs to ensure that there were no defects in the system since it would have meant investors losing confidence. “Our effort since June 2014 to launch the system paid off. The results are here for all to see. Within 12 months, we could attract 2,300 industries and investments worth Rs 30,000 crore from diverse sectors,” said K.T. Rama Rao, minister for industries.

Capital, periphery are most preferred: The liberal approval policy has failed in ensuring balanced industrial growth of all the regions in the state. By and large, all these new industries and companies are coming only in the four districts neighbouring Hyderabad and in particular, Ranga Reddy district. Despite the availability of abundant land bank and industrial incentives, there are only a few takers to set up industries in other districts barring Warangal, resulting in migration of work force to Hyderabad and surrounding districts.

The government has been requesting industrialists and entrepreneurs to set up their units in Nizamabad, Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and Warangal districts and even offering additional incentives for the purpose. While the government aims to create employment for locals by encouraging industries in their own districts, there is poor response from investors. According to industries department officials, only one out of 10 applications that are being received pertain to districts that do not surround Hyderabad.

The government too is struggling to provide land to industries around Hyderabad due to higher demand from all sectors. “Most of the land parcels around Hyderabad were already allotted by governments in undivided AP to various firms. Though some more vacant land parcels are available here, they are stuck in legal disputes, and it would take time to reclaim them. A huge chunk of government land is available in Karimangar, Warangal, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam districts. However, the response to set up units in these districts has been poor,” an industries official said.

Of the nearly Rs 30,000 crore investment proposals that came into the state during the last one year, nearly Rs 25,000 crore pertains to Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar districts. The remaining districts account for the balance Rs 5,000 crore, of which Warangal alone accounts for Rs 3,309 crore.