Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Industrialists hit hard

VIJAYAWADA: Non-availability of land is turning out to be a major stumbling block for the setting up of new industrial units in Krishna district. Industrialists, who show interest in setting up industries, are forced to rethink their plans. Even if they find huge extents of lands in rural areas, the price that the land owner demands is putting them off.

Even for lands that are infertile and where no activity takes place, land owners are said to be quoting anything between Rs.20 lakhs and Rs. 40 lakhs an acre. Representatives of three major companies have been making continuous efforts for the last one year to possess land in the district and set up their units here.

Since the city is a major junction for both roadways and railways and the law and order are under control in the entire district, industrialists consider this a safe and convenient place to expand their business. Availability of manpower and natural resources like water are other features that attract investments.

An official of the Industries Department says escalation of land price is a common feature across the district. The offer that the industrialists are making is not matching with that of the real estate developers in many areas, he observes.

Referring to a recent land deal clinched by a Hyderabad-based biotech company with the farmers of Jujjuru village in Veerulapadu mandal, the official says that the company’s representatives have kept their details in dark till the land registration was completed. After the farmers quoted an exorbitant figure to the company’s representatives last year when the latter tried to buy land directly, the company became wiser and completed the entire transaction with the help of some middlemen.

Representatives of a Chennai-based garment-making unit, who have plans to buy about 400 acres of land, visited several villages and faced a similar problem. They apparently shifted to other districts and began their search for land.

Even small-scale industries are facing a similar problem, as sites are not available in major industrial estates. “We are asking entrepreneurs to plan their units in Jaggayyapet or Nuzvid, where we can allocate some land in the industrial estates there,” says A. Sudhakar, General Manager of the District Industries Centre.

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