Hyd will be 'no factory city' in 5 years, says CM Revanth

Mumbai/Hyderabad: Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy has declared that Hyderabad would be “almost a ‘No Industry and No Factory’ city in the next five years” and net zero one by 2034 in view of the series of conducive measures launched by the state government.

Speaking at the Mumbai Climate Week on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that, in order to promote the state as a hub of electric vehicle manufacturing, talks were in progress with some noted companies to establish electric vehicle (EV) units in the state.

The Chief Minister said that taxes on electric vehicles have been removed, resulting in high EV adoption. As part of environmental sustainability, he said, over two lakh auto rickshaws are being retrofitted toward green alternatives, over 3,500 RTC buses are being replaced with electric ones, and the Hyderabad Metro is being expanded from 71 km to over 200 km. Industries are being progressively shifted from the core urban region to peri-urban zones.

Revanth Reddy highlighted sustainability initiatives of the state government, including the rejuvenation of River Musi, restoration of lakes, strengthening of water and energy grids, and the establishment of HYDRAA - India’s first dedicated environmental police force. “Hyderabad is targeted to achieve Net Zero by 2034 and will soon undertake a city-wide carbon footprint audit. Within the next five years”, he observed, there will be “almost no industry or factory within the urban area”. The PURE Zone, located between the Outer Ring Road and the 360-kilometer Regional Ring Road, has been dedicated to manufacturing and positioned as a major hub powered by green energy, aimed at providing a “China +1” alternative.

For the unversed, ‘China Plus One’ strategy refers to a business approach where companies diversify their operations by setting up production facilities in countries besides China, essentially reducing their dependence on a single manufacturing hub and mitigating risks associated with relying solely on China for sourcing and production; this is often done by investing in a secondary manufacturing location in another Asian country while still maintaining a presence in China.

Emphasizing that power or energy is the real currency of any economy, the Chief Minister said development is measured by power generation and consumption.

Telangana currently consumes an average of 16,610 megawatts per day. The peak demand recorded last year was 17,162 megawatts, expected to exceed 19,000 megawatts this year, and projected to cross 34,000 megawatts by 2034 as the state targets a one-trillion-dollar economy. Nearly one quarter of the state’s energy, about 24.8 per cent or 25 per cent, is sourced from green power.

The Chief Minister reiterated Telangana’s ambition to grow from a 200-billion-US dollar state GDP to a one-trillion-US dollar economy by 2034 and a three-trillion-US dollar economy by 2047. He outlined the future pillars as economy, environment, education and skills, energy, employment, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation opportunities for everyone.