Hyderabad: With the power crisis in the Telangana hitting a new low, investors might not set up shop in the state unless the crisis is solved.
Representatives from various industries also met IT minister K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday and updated him on the grave situation being faced by the industry due to power cuts.
As many as 7,632 proposals had been received to set up big industries in Telangana. Of them, 1,824 have been dropped, resulting in a loss of Rs1.31 lakh crore investments and 3 lakh jobs.
This has come as a jolt to the Telangana government, which is in the process of unveiling a new industrial policy with an aim of attracting nearly Rs 2 lakh crore investments.
Though the Telangana government has readied a land bank of 5 lakh acre to set up industries, it has failed to enthuse investors due to severe power shortage in the state.
With Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao himself making public statements that the power problems would continue for another three years in the state, the investors are having second thoughts about the proposals they had submitted earlier.
Highly-placed sources in the department revealed that as many as 20,912 SMEs in Telangana have closed down in the last three years due to the power crisis. Several of these SMEs were engaged in manufacturing of plastic bags etc.
The crisis started in the undivided state in 2011 and has been worsening with each passing year.
SMEs are the worst affected on account of the power crisis. On an average, 232 units are closing per day. Each unit employs 25 people on an average, resulting in 5,800 people losing their livelihoods.
The department urged the government to come up with a concrete plan on improving the power situation in the state to build confidence among investors.
Though the government was supposed to release its new industrial policy before Diwali, it has been kept on hold due to the power crisis.
The government wants to release the policy only after it comes out with a concrete plan on how to address the issue in the next 2-3 years.
