Clamour for IT capital pits Maran against YSR

The battle for the Information Technology (IT) capital of the country seems to be turning into a turf war between IT minister Dayanidhi Maran and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy.

According to top sources in the government Reddy has been upset about the fact that all major IT projects in the last one year have been sent to Chennai, Maran's hometown, bypassing Hyderabad.

Matters came to a head when Hyderabad and Chennai came into direct competition as a location for Fabcity, a project for the fabrication of semi conductors worth $ 3 billion by the communications company AMD.

Reddy, along with 40 MPs expressed his grievance before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and later to IT minister Dayanidhi Maran. The Andhra Chief Minister felt that all the infrastructure in Hyderabad was being wasted on this account. And while, the DMK is a Congress ally at the Centre, the Centre was discriminating against a Congress-led government due to "regional considerations," said a senior minister.

"This is not the old license-quota raj, where projects are wholly dependent on political patronage, but pleasing the minister concerned is a good strategy when you are investing billions, so private companies seem to be heading Chennai wards," added the minister.

All this is giving Reddy sleepless nights especially when he enumerates the millions of dollars in investment that he seems to have lost out on. The Fabcity project is worth $3 billion.

Nokia is also setting up a manufacturing unit in Chennai worth $ 150 million, Cisco along with BSNL is setting up an IP Next Generation Network Laboratory in Chennai with $ 10 million investment.

Other companies entering Chennai include Flextronics manufacturing and Alcatel along with ITI setting up a WiMax Research Centre. Reddy also has other grievances against Maran.

These include delay in giving requisite permission for a braodband programme for Andhra Pradesh as well as setting up an IT park in Hyderabad.

"After the free flow of projects and funds that Chandrababu Naidu enjoyed under the BJP led Vajpayee government, Reddy is hard pressed to explain why he cannot get similar concessions from the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre," added the minister.