Hyderabad: Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district has been picked by the Centre as one of the 12 industrial smart cities in 10 states that are being developed at a cost of Rs 28,602 crore. The decision has been taken during a Union cabinet meeting in Delhi on Wednesday, August 28.
The smart industrial city is being seen as a revival of the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) that was established in Zaheerabad in 2013 during the earlier Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme by the Centre presently.
“I still remember when I was the industries minister during the Congress government in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, I had urged the then Union industries minister Anand Sharma that Telangana had to be given NIMZ. As Zaheerabad had the land, water and road connectivity, I had suggested that this would be the perfect place to setup such a manufacturing zone. That was when one NIMZ was given to Rayalaseema region, and the other was given to Telangana region,” recollected J Geetha Reddy, speaking with Siasat.com.
Almost 11 years after NIMZ was established, the NDA government at the Centre wants to take up works in 3,245 acres under the first phase of the revived project at a cost of Rs 2,361 crore. A total 12,500 acres which has been designated for NIMZ/smart industrial city.
The project will be implemented under the framework of the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT). This project which is part of the Hyderabad-Nagpur industrial corridor will be established in 17 villages of Zaheerabad’s Nyalkal and Jharasangam mandals, which were already identified by the Congress government in 2013.
As per official data, for the first phase of the project, 3,100 acres have been already acquired by the Telangana government. Shareholders’ agreement (SHA) and state support agreement (SSA) have also been completed.
Union coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union industries minister Piyush Goyal for designating NIMZ as one of the prestigious industrial smart cities in the country.
Zaheerabad MP Suresh Shetkar thanked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for representing to the Centre for including Zaheerabad under the smart industrial cities programme.
