Hyderabad, January 07: It was business as usual for the five-member team from Germany staying at Taj Banjara when news of Srikrishna Committee’s recommendations were beamed on TV channels here on Thursday. The team, during their visit to Hyderabad last December, had witnessed agitations demanding a separate State, which affected their IT counterpart’s (DQ Entertainment) operations.
“There was apprehension last year regarding continuity of operations. Now, our team is not worried. Concern is only about the law and order situation and not if the state will remain united or bifurcated,” said Tapaas Chakravarthi, chairman & managing director, DQ Entertainment.
A cross-section of industry honchos Express spoke to evoked a similar response but insisted that a decision be taken quickly so that ambiguity is dissolved.
“We are neutral to what happens politically. If at all a decision is taken, we want the government to ensure peace so that businesses will run smoothly. Ambiguity prevailed and still prevails,” said Harishchandra Prasad, chairman, Malaxmi Group.
According to estimates, industrial production declined to six per cent from approximately 12 per cent as of September, 2010. “Various reasons can be attributed for the decline including uncertainty over bifurcation. But we are on track,” Prasad added.
While the government is trying to ensure business continuity for existing industries, the uncertainty is likely to have an affect on future investments. “We had indicated to political parties recently, to settle the issue, so that we don’t lose investor’s confidence. We don’t want any untoward incidents, which will only decelerate industry’s growth plans,” said Shakti Sagar, chairman, CII (AP Chapter).
Conceding with Sagar’s views, L Suresh Kumar, president, ITsAP, said: “Investments would be impacted if uncertainty does not end soon. The bifurcation may not impact Hyderabad as the ecosystem is already in place. Business activity will not be altered in any way.”
For others like K I Varaprasad Reddy, founder, Shantha Biotech, the issue of bifurcation is a serious concern. Since mid 2010, Reddy has been pestered with anonymous calls demanding money for the land allotted by the state government in Telangana. In fact, anti-social elements, as Reddy calls them, even visited the company to either pay up or shut down operations altogether. “We received several calls demanding money. When we informed the government about it, we were asked to handle it ourselves. Now, what the government decides about the bifurcation issue is not an issue for us. Existing companies will not lift operations and move out. Expansion too will continue within the state. But certainly new industries will be worried,” he said.
–Agencies