Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday assured the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)'s Southern Council that his government would fully protect the interests of the industry in all respects, including providing adequate security against disruptions on account of agitations.
Responding to the various concerns expressed by the members of the CII-Southern Council, which met here on Friday, the chief minister said that land and power would be made available and his government would soon come up with a land policy to ensure transparency in allotments so that no allottee was faced with any complications at a later date. “I do not want to have any discretionary powers in land allotments, which have to be done purely on a rational basis,” he said.
The chief minister said he would take feedback from the industry apart from all the political parties before finalising the land policy that would be in line with the national policy.
The government has no hesitation in bringing the manufacturing sector, especially in and around Hyderabad, under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) if the industry representatives come forward with concrete proposals, Reddy said.
“We are launching a massive Rajiv Gandhi Education and Skill Development Mission tomorrow and aim to cover 500,000 youth under the programme each year, in the next three years. We can think of providing employment opportunities to all those, only when the industry expands in the state. In that way the government and industry are partners in this endeavour,” he told the CII members.
However, Reddy has a complaint against the industry too. “It is not fair on your part to bargain with a competing state based on the incentives offered by another competing state. This has to go”.
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The CII members expressed serious concern over the recent rise in minimum wages by 30 per cent across the board and at a uniform rate across the state, which according to them would badly hit the manufacturing, especially the SME sector. With the previous minimum wages being higher compared to many other states, the recent revision had put the state’s minimum wages on par with that of Delhi.
The chief minister promised to look into this aspect while stating that the agriculture sector was currently facing manpower shortage on account of higher wages given under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.
Earlier, CII Southern region chairman TT Ashok said a concerted effort by all the southern states was needed in the areas of education, skill development and infrastructure sectors in the light of the general slow down in growth in south.