KTR questions delay in release of Central funds for ITIR

Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao today sought "clarity" from Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on the proposed IT Investment Region (ITIR) project here citing an "inordinate delay" in the release of funds.
In a letter written to Prasad, Rao said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the ITIR was submitted twice to the Centre by the state government seeking a financial assistance to the tune of Rs 4,863 crore (Rs 942 crore for phase I and Rs 3,921 crore for phase II).
He said the Centre had approved the support to an extent of Rs 3,275 crore (Rs 165 crore for two projects in phase I and Rs 3,110 crore for three projects in the second phase under ITIR).

"However, even after repeated persuasion from the state government, funds were not released to any of the above mentioned infra projects under the ITIR. Series of meetings with your kind self and also with the department officials have not yielded any result till date," the minister said.
"Lack of clarity on the ITIR Project from the Union government is leading to frequent adverse news reports and is creating confusion among the various stake-holders," he said.
Rao asked the Centre to clear its stand on continuation of the ITIR project and on the release of funds as promised in a 2013 notification.

"The IT exports from Telangana have grown from Rs. 56,258 crore in 2013-14 to a whopping Rs 85,470 crore in 2016-17. Direct employment in the IT sector has also grown from 3,23,396 to 4,31,891 during the same period," the minister said.
He said the projects such as ITIR would not only help Hyderabad attract more investments resulting in employment for scores of youths, but would also give a huge boost to the overall economy of the country.