CCI Revival Issue Triggers BJP-BRS Slugfest
Former minister Jogu Ramanna later warned that he would launch an indefinite hunger strike if the state and Central governments failed to initiate steps to revive the unit before August 31.
Adilabad: The long-pending revival of the closed Adilabad unit of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) has reignited political sparring between the BJP and the BRS, with both parties trading allegations and claiming commitment to reopening the factory.
The issue has remained a major election promise for nearly two decades, with political parties and candidates contesting Assembly and Parliament elections repeatedly assuring voters that the unit would be revived. The CCI plant, commissioned in 1984, suspended production in 1996 and was formally closed in 1998.
The latest political confrontation began after a BRS delegation, led by party working president K.T. Rama Rao, met Union minister for heavy industries H.D. Kumaraswamy and urged the Centre to revive the Adilabad unit, citing limestone reserves sufficient for another 100 years.
The delegation said reopening the plant would generate direct and indirect employment for thousands of unemployed youth in the district.
Former minister Jogu Ramanna later warned that he would launch an indefinite hunger strike if the state and Central governments failed to initiate steps to revive the unit before August 31.
While welcoming the proposed industrial park and airport for Adilabad, Ramanna accused BJP MLA Payal Shankar and MP Godam Nagesh of neglecting the CCI revival, alleging that the reopened unit could provide employment to nearly 6,000 people.
He also alleged that Payal Shankar was attempting to facilitate the transfer of the existing CCI infrastructure to a private businessman or convert the land into a real estate venture for personal gain.
Rejecting the allegations, Payal Shankar accused the BRS of politicising the issue. He said Ramanna was unable to accept the development taking place in Adilabad under the present government and questioned why the previous BRS government had failed to establish the industrial park and airport.
The BJP MLA also alleged that K.T. Rama Rao, who served as industries minister during the BRS regime, had failed to pursue the revival of the Adilabad CCI unit while in power. He said the BRS leadership was now "shedding crocodile tears" over the issue after neglecting it for years.
