Telangana issue not hampering investments, says Kiran Kumar

Hyderabad, July 19 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Kiran Kumar Reddy Thursday said that the Telangana issue is not hampering the investments into the state.

His statement came during an interaction with captains of industry at the southern regional meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

"The political issue is there. It was there for limited time. We saw the biggest agitation in Telangana," he said referring to last year's protests for separate statehood to Telangana region, which comprises 10 districts, including Hyderabad.

"The political decision will be taken when the time comes but that is in no way hampering business atmosphere or investments," he said.

The chief minister told a delegate from Kerala that Howard Business School had rated Andhra Pradesh as the best investment destination in the country.

The delegate had asked the chief minister about the political and social instability in Andhra Pradesh affecting its perception.

Kiran Kumar Reddy pointed out that during the Partnership Summit in January this year, the state attracted an investment of Rs.1.33 lakh crore while three earlier summits had bagged investment of less than Rs.20,000 crore.

Out of Rs.6.5 lakh crore worth of investment proposals made during the summit, projects worth Rs.1.33 lakh crore were cleared. He claimed that most of them were in different stages of completion.

Besides this, another Rs.1.25 lakh crore investment is expected in public sector. "We are trying to pursuer other MoUs," he said.

The chief minister told the gathering that the central government had already announced a manufacturing zone for the state. "We are trying to identify suitable location. We are also seeking three manufacturing zones in all three regions of the state," he added.

While promising all incentives to the industry, he suggested that they explore the opportunities in the rural areas, especially in food processing sector.