It may be unwanted, but the foreign investors and corporate now considering to move out of Hyderabad or scale down their investing plans, more due to unfriendly attitude of the facilitating officials.
A fresh
development reported in Business Standard on Friday, the global FMCG major,
Proctor & Gamble is considering scaling down its investment plan due to
multiple hurdles created by state officials.
The report
says, the senior officials of P&G met with the chief minister office and
requested their intervention to overcome these hurdles.
While the
Chief Minister K Chandra Sekhara Rao is looking to west for overall development
of the state and Capital city, on the other hand, his officials are trying to
pour water on his efforts, says industry sources.
For
instance, the PG had acquired 175 acres in the neighbouring Mahboobnagar
district in 2012 with a view to establish a manufacturing facility with an
investment of $800 million in order to make the facility as a hub for several
of its products to cater its South India market.
The company
has so far invested $150 million, in the first phase, and suddenly it felt its
presence in the state difficult and decided to scale down its efforts. As a
first step the company sought reduction in its power intake from 10 MW to 2 MW,
the newspaper quoted sources.
The report
claims that state’s legal metrology department had seized the company’s
equipment, which was brought from overseas, on some technical grounds, about 45
days ago. Besides, the department registering criminal cases against the
company besides heavy penalties, the report mentioned.
In another
incident, the company claims, the R&B issued demand notice for Rs 60 lakh
for allowing approach road to plant, which incidentally layed by the company on
its costs. But as per the industrial policy the government needs to lay
approach road, the report says.
The woes of
company did not stop here, as MRO initiated legal proceedings against the
company, as he found about 5 to 6 guntas of assigned land become part of the
land the company had bought. The issue was further taken interesting turn when
a resident from Nizamabad claiming that that particular assigned land belongs
to his ancestors as they have tenancy rights.
The company,
if completed, would employ about 1,500 people besides indirect employment for
4,000 people and promised to extend 80 per cent of jobs to locals. The
officials went of complaining that the officials (may be at the lower levels)
are expected favours including cash, the report alleged and said that neither
company nor government responded to the queries of the newspaper.
It further
quoted, S Gopal Reddy, controller, Legal Metrology, whose department seized the
equipment, said it was a closed chapter. "There could be cases if there
are violations. Anyway, I cannot tell off hand as to what were those reasons,
over phone. You better approach the local inspector," Business Standard
reported saying his voice is somewhat harsher. Reddy, who is a senior IPS officer
of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, had recently here on deputation and he hails from
Telangana.
