At a time when Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on a 10-day tour to USA and South Korea, along with two of his senior ministers, Chief Secretary and host of senior officials, intending to attract new investments for the state, former MP and prominent industrialist Galla Jayadev’s comments revealing prevailed poor image on Revanth’s government among investors.
On one side, opposition is accusing that Revanth Reddy’s team locked deals with allegedly dubious companies in the USA, on the other hand apprehensions are being expressed by various sections on the handling of the economy by the Congress government.
Jayadev Galla, Chairman of Amara Raja Energy and Mobility, was intended for Rs 1,000 crore investments in Telangana region after the previous YS Jaganmohan Reddy regime harassed his company in Andhra Pradesh, as he was TDP MP. Though former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was a close associate of Jaganmohan Reddy politically, he had extended redcarpet welcome to Jayadev for investments in the state.
But, though he has no rivalry with Revanth Reddy’s regime here, his comments that his group might have to `look elsewhere’ for its plant’s capacity expansion if the present state government did not honour the commitments made by the previous BRS government. His apprehensions reflect the confusion prevailing among companies that announced major investments in the state.
The Amara Raja battery maker had signed a MoU with the previous BRS government for investing 9,500 crore, over a period of 10 years, for setting up research and development and a Greenfield manufacturing facility for Lithium-Ion battery-making in Telangana, which has an ultimate capacity up to 16 GWh and a Battery Pack Assembly unit up to 5 GWh.
As the financial situation of the government itself is in question, Galla Jayadev expressed doubt whether they’re capable of extending incentives assured by the previous government? “It is not about the intent (of the government). Do they have the funds? Do they have the resources to honour those commitments?” he wondered.
BRS working president K T Rama Rao expressed serious concerns over the potential exit of the Amara Raja Group from Telangana, warning that the State’s economic reputation is at stake. He urged Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to prioritise policy continuity and avoid jeopardising “Brand Telangana” due to political differences
It may be recalled that in January, soon after the Congress came to power, Corning International Corporation had relocated its Rs 1,000 crore Gorilla glass manufacturing facility to Tamil Nadu. The company signed a pact with Tamil Nadu to set up its Gorilla glass manufacturing facility at Pillaipakkam, Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.