Hyderabad: City-based Right to Information (RTI) activist Robin Zaccheus on Thursday slammed the ruling TRS government for losing the chance to set up a Central Institute of Petrochemical Engineer and Technology (CIPET) centre at Medak in Telangana in spite of the Centre’s willingness to do so.
Obtaining communication documents between the Centre and the Telangana government, Robin found that the central Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals was waiting for approval from the state since 2016 when the project was approved from the Centre’s side. Only one letter from the Telangana principal secretary for industries was sent to the Director General of CIPET in 2016, stating that the matter is pending with the chief minister’s office.
CIPET has a diploma and PG diploma program centre in Hyderabad. According to the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, the Centre has even purchased 20 acres of land in Medak district to set up the new skill development and training institute. Documents obtained by Robin showed that the Centre sent letters on more than one occasion seeking the Telangana government’s approval for the project.
Robin slammed the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), now soon to be Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), over the issue. He questioned why the CIPET centre project was lost, especially since leaders from the ruling party regularly state that the Centre does not allocate Telangana enough projects.
“Not a single response has been sent by the State Government Administration despite of following up for 4 long years!!!,” Robin added. The documents obtained through RTI showed that the latest reminders to the state government were sent in 2020.
After not receiving any response from the Telangana government, the Centre dropped its proposal to set up a CIPET centre at Medak. Kashi Nath Jha, joint secretary, Govt. of India, informed in 2020 that the project was being junked.
