Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday countered what he called deliberate misinformation about the industrial land policy, stressing that the policy’s core objective is to make Hyderabad a pollution-free city and that there is ‘no possibility of a scam’ in its implementation.Speaking at the ‘Face-to-face with ministers’ event at Gandhi Bhavan, he collected public petitions and reviewed complaints with officials before addressing the issue in detail. At a press conference later, Uttam said the policy is fully transparent and accused BJP and BRS leaders of misrepresenting it without understanding its purpose. He urged them to take the time to understand it thoroughly, arguing that the opposition is attempting to undercut the govt because ‘they know no corruption occurred’ and are frustrated by the public’s positive response to Congress initiatives. Uttam said relocating polluting industries beyond the Outer Ring Road has been a long-standing demand and not a new idea introduced by the govt. “This policy isn’t something we just dreamed up; it has been in discussion for a while. The opposition is simply stirring up unnecessary controversy, as if we’ve introduced something entirely unprecedented,” he said. ‘To boost revenues’He reminded that even the previous BRS govt had held discussions on the same policy and dismissed its claim that it would revise the framework if returned to power. “They are not coming back into power, and this policy will remain unchanged,” he remarked. The minister said the new industrial land framework would also boost state revenues and accused the opposition of opposing every move of the Congress govt for the sake of confrontation. He further alleged that the Bhadradri Kothagudem power project—developed under the former BRS govt—was itself riddled with irregularities. According to him, the plant was built with outdated, unused equipment purchased from India Bulls using sub-critical technology, leaving it ‘hardly functional.’
