AP minister meets business leaders to allay concerns over Hyderabad - Livemint

Hyderabad: Amid political uncertainty in Andhra Pradesh, the state's major industries minister J. Geeta Reddy on Monday reassured business leaders that their investments would be secure and commitments made by the current regime honoured after the Telangana region wins statehood. "You can be assured that there will be no forced relocation, either of your facilities or your employees," Reddy said in a meeting with representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) in Hyderabad. "I would like to impress upon the investors that there will not be any deviation from the industrial friendly policies of the government," she said in a note circulated after the meeting. "All incentives, benefits and facilities offered previously... will remain valid regardless of where your investment is located." Following widespread unrest in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the state – collectively known as Seemandhra – since the Congress party and its allies endorsed statehood for Telangana on 30 July, the business community has been on the tenterhooks over the status of Hyderabad, where a majority of the businesses in the state are located. The number of state cabinet ministers who quit over bifurcation of AP reached 11 on Monday with health minister Kondru Murali and forest minister Satrucharla Vijayarama Raju submitting their resignations to chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy; 19 MPs resigned in favour of keeping the state united. Hyderabad will serve as joint capital of Telangana and what remains of Andhra Pradesh for 10 years after the bifurcation. "There is ambiguity about Hyderabad," said Y. Harish Chandra Prasad, chairman of Hyderabad-headquartered Malaxmi Group. Industry representatives are apprehensive security of their business interests, safety of employees, and honouring of contracts and memorandums of understanding by the new governments. "Some kind of continuity in Andhra Pradesh in terms of protection, safety, and making sure there is no ambiguity in existing policies were discussed," chairman of CII's Andhra Pradesh chapter B. Ashok Reddy said. "We have seen some incidents when some people suffered during agitation and bandhs (during the Telangana campaign)," he said. The representatives also expressed concerns over sharing of water resources between Seemandhra and Telangana, and the distribution of electricity between power-surplus Seemandhra and power-deficit Telangana. Admitting power shortage would crop up in the proposed Telangana state, Geeta Reddy said the terms of reference prepared by an expert committee constituted by the government will be followed by the Union government and the present state government while dividing the assets in "most optimal manner". "The allocation of assets between the two states will be done according to well-established (precedents) and will take all local requirements into consideration," she said. "Resources will be shared equally." Ashok Reddy said industry bodies would make a representation highlighting their concerns before a four-member committee headed by defence minister A.K. Antony appointed to examine the grievances of people from the Seemandhra region. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGXi5dkjnRjq0wHIxLEHnc10NqT9Q&url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/3WKG9eEvnAAhsCpOVYAcMP/AP-minister-meets-business-leaders-to-allay-concerns-over-Hy.html

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