Nizamabad awaits industrial growth

Agriculture and poultry resources available in abundance. Development plans made but yet to see the light of the day

Nizamabad: TELANGANA government has been pushing the industrial development by focusing on establishment of large and small industries in the Nizamabad district. The State government's thrust is on speeding up traditional industrial growth vis a vis software and information technology industry development in the Nizamabad district.

In a bid to boost the software industry in the district, the State government has constructed IT towers in Nizamabad town at an investment of Rs 25 crore.

The government has identified that the district has huge untapped potential for establishing industries related to food processing. There is a abundant availability of the several kinds of agriculture produce, which can act as raw material for the food processing industries. These units in turn would create employment opportunities in the district.

The district can be transformed from a purely agrarian economy to an agrarian and industrial economy. Turmeric, oil extraction from paddy, soybean and oil seeds, soy products, rice and maize products and milk and dairy segments are its strengths.

Currently, agricultural produce is transported to other districts and States for processing. Thus depriving the district of the crucial industrial growth. For example, there is only one mill making industrial grade starch in the district.

Providing important facilities that can enable the ease of setting up units and running business such as, establishing common pool of infrastructure and amenities to be used by a group of small units, is rapidly picking up in the district. This acts as value addition for the opportunities with low per capita investment.

Spice Park

The Spice Park proposed in Padgal village of Velpur mandal has not yet become operational. It has to be established in an area of 43.23 acres. The government had made an allocation of Rs 15.50 crore in the 2016-17 budget and the total estimate was pegged at about Rs 30 crore.

Smart Agro Industries Corporation Private Limited has set up a food processing park in Nandipet mandal. The facility is ready for setting up units. However, no investments have been made yet. The TS government wants to encourage private players to process turmeric and encourage turmeric by-products.

Efforts were made to rope in the Patanjali Company headed by prominent Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev to establish the park. But not to be.

Some other private players such as Tetrapak wanted to establish milk processing and storage units. They wanted to work in unison with the Nizamabad unit of Telangana State Dairy Development Federation Corporation.

There is sufficient scope for improving milk production, poultry population increase besides promoting layering and broiler production activities that can be carried out on the marginal and waste lands.

The share of the district in the State agriculture output is significant – paddy 18 per cent, soya bean 25 per cent, turmeric 31 per cent.

Nizamabad has a prominent place on the global turmeric map. It contributes 8 per cent to global production. There are about 690 small and medium sized units, predominantly into rice milling, seed processing and timber cutting, employing over 10,000 people. About 10,000 graduates enter the employment market each year with few job opportunities in the district.

Nizamabad has eco spots that can be developed to create interest in tourists through leisure stay, trekking and adventure stay, and pilgrimages. Interestingly, hotels are built in abandoned quarries abroad to promote tourism, a research paper on the district development states.

Largest sugar factory in Asia, Nizam Sugars was established in 1938 in Bodhan. Later its units were established in several other places. In undivided Andhra Pradesh, the then TDP government as part of development of Nizam Sugars sold 51 per cent stake to private players.

The sugar factory has three additional units at Bodhan, Metpally and

Mumbojipally (Medak). During 2014 election campaign, the TRS leadership had promised to take over Nizam Sugars if they come to power and develop it.

As promised, the TRS government in 2015 issued a GO to continue all the three units of the sugar factory under cooperative sector. In this backdrop a lay off was declared and all the three units were closed. People still waiting for the poll promises to be fulfilled.