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A political controversy over investments and job creation erupted in Andhra Pradesh with the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) accusing YSRCP of filing public interest litigations (PILs) to stall big-ticket projects and the Opposition party blaming the government for allotting valuable land at throwaway prices.
Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT, Electronics and Communications Nara Lokesh on Friday criticised the filing of a series of PILs against major IT park projects in the state. In a post on X, Lokesh said PILs had been filed against IT park developments by companies such as TCS, Cognizant, Sattva Group and, most recently, Raheja Corp in Visakhapatntateam. “@YSRCParty has moved PILs against TCS, Cognizant, Sattva and now Raheja IT parks – projects that together mean over 1 lakh jobs for #AndhraPradesh. @ysjagan, why this hatred towards the future of our youth? Why sabotage AP at every step?” Lokesh said in his post. The latest PIL was filed against the land allotment for Raheja Corp’s proposed IT park in Visakhapatnam. The petitioner, G Srinivasa Rao of the “Society for Protection of the Constitution”, was represented by senior counsel Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy.
YSRCP, however, denied having filed PILs. YSRCP Rajampet MP P V Midhun Reddy said, “YSRCP has not filed any PILs. We are not opposing the government’s initiative to bring in companies like Cognizant and TCS. But we are questioning the government over its decision to give land worth hundreds of crores to little known companies. Also, the government is giving land to companies that have made no commitments on job creation.” Reddy said that TDP government is promoting data centres in Vizag but the projection of job creation are “inflated”. “Real estate developers like Raheja have been given valuable land. But they wont create jobs. In fact, they have not even committed jobs. The government needs to be transparent about what the company’s projection and commitment are in job creation,” said Reddy.
Lokesh said repeated PILs against marquee investments sent a negative signal to investors and weakened Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to position itself as a destination for technology, innovation and employment. He said the coalition government remained committed to transparent and lawful processes and would defend projects that generated livelihoods and economic growth. He also said the state could not afford politically motivated obstruction when it was focused on rebuilding investor confidence, attracting global companies and creating opportunities for young people. “The future of Andhra Pradesh lies in jobs, skills and growth. Any attempt to stall such projects is an attack on the aspirations of our youth,” Lokesh said, reiterating the government’s resolve to push development forward.
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