HYDERABAD: Keeping in view the increasing demand for cement materials in the state, minister K. T. Rama Rao on Sunday asked the Centre to consider restarting the Cement Corporation of India’s (CCI) Adilabad Cement Plant for producing cement to meet the rising demand in the state.
The regular functioning of the plant came to halt for a few years due to various reasons.
Rama Rao wrote to the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman and Union minister for heavy industries Mahendranath Pandey stating that if the Centre resumed operations at the Adilabad plant, hundreds of unemployed people would get job opportunities.
In his letter, Rama Rao said crores of rupees of investments were made by different companies in Telangana after the state government introduced the iPass scheme. Orient Cements had invested Rs 1,500 crore at its Devapur unit in Adilabad district for enhancing output and was providing job opportunities.
"In Adilabad district, the majority of people are Adivasis and tribals. Hundreds of youths are struggling due to lack of job opportunities. When the Telangana government is providing jobs to unemployed youths by making investments with the assistance of corporate companies, the government undertaking bodies like CCI has failed to resume dilapidated companies in the state," Rama Rao alleged.
Explaining the importance of the Adilabad Cement Plant, the IT minister said the plant was located in 772 acres of land and CCI township was located in 170 acres. Limestone facilities were available in 1,500 acres in Adilabad district. These positive infrastructure and resources would help the government to restart the plant, Rama Rao said.
Rama Rao reiterated that there was a huge demand for cement material in Telangana as construction activity was being strengthened in rural and urban localities. The International Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) and CRISIL have estimated that cement production would increase following the rise in demand in the state.
The minister assured the Centre that the state government would provide basic amenities required to resume the Adilabad Cement Plant, further development activity would take place in Adilabad if a decision was taken in restarting the cement plant.
Adilabad Cement Plant
- 300 km from Hyderabad, 200 km from Nagpur by road, and 5 km from Adilabad station on NH 7
- Railway: Broad gauge siding at Adilabad, 5 km from the plant
- Installed capacity is four lakh tonne per annum.
- Non-operational since November 5, 1998
- Source of limestone: Adilabad mines, 1 km from plant
- Mineable reserves: 48.18 million tonne (approx.)
- Balance reserve: 42.66 million tonne (approx.)
- Mines area: Adilabad limestone mines 2,074.09 acres
