The Hindu Business Line : Will Coimbatore get the IT tag?

The association has been pursuing relentlessly with the Government to consider setting up an IT Park here, but its efforts have not borne fruit till date. The CII began the image-building exercise five years ago.

A good number of IT companies are keen on setting up a centre here, but the delay in the take-off of the IT park project plan is turning away prospective entrants.

The city, though, is not starved of software technology parks promoted by private corporate houses. There are three STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) earth stations here apart from the space provided by the private players for setting up technology parks.

Industry insiders however are disturbed by the step-motherly attitude of the Government to the initiative.

CII sources told Business Line that the first Government Order for transfer of 14.05 acres in the Government Medical College campus for the proposed IT park was passed over a year ago on June 2, 2004.

Two months later, on August 11, the second GO (No. 376) for transfer of an additional 15.03 acres was passed, taking the total allocation to 29.08 acres.

The land was valued at Rs 8 crore, and the sum was payable to the Health Department. ELCOT was appointed as the nodal agency for settling the dues, payable in instalments.

CII sources say that no instalment has yet been paid to the Health Department.

Meanwhile, the CII, which has been following up the developments at the highest level, says that its request for convenient access to the earmarked site has been approved in principle with the allotment of an additional 1.5 acres being the gateway to the site.

Ms Nandini Rangaswamy, Chairperson, CII (Southern Region), Coimbatore, said that the State IT Minister had made efforts to form a committee on the progress of this project.

To prevent a big IT player from moving to other destinations, the CII is said to have proposed an alternative site (which again belongs to a Government Department).

The `lackadaisical attitude' in clearing such project proposals, industry insiders say, is making big IT companies look at other potential destinations.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
BPOs resume outbound work for UK clients — Queries deluge for staff on National Rail work

Mobile subscriber base up 2 m in June

100th Tata Indicom True Value Shoppe

Hinduja TMT finding favour among investors

MosChip mulls FII cap hike

ABT Info is a `learn while you earn' project: Promoters

Tally Solutions to launch ERP platform

Telecom majors betting big on VoIP

IT majors may better projections in Q1

Will Coimbatore get the IT tag?

Book on offshore services launched