Infosys has withdrawn its plans of building a second software development centre in Technopark, Kerala.
Dissatisfied over the lack of infrastructure, water and power, India’s second largest software exporter did not start construction of a campus there. Ramdas Kamath, head of infrastructure, facilities at Infosys, told BusinessLine that the Kerala government has not made any efforts to improve the working conditions in Technopark.
“They are asking us to submit plans for building a centre when our employees are struggling to get into the campus due to narrow roads and literally no water,” an irate Kamath added. In response, Girish Babu, CEO of Technopark said that the Kerala government has so far invested ₹5.96 crore for the roads, ₹2.73 crore for power infrastructure and ₹17.87 crore for water supply within Technocity.
He added that for the proposed campus, Technopark has arranged redundant lines one direct from local water authorities, one line from Technopark Phase 1 and has managed to meet 100 per cent requirement of Infosys on other aspects, such as power and roads.
Technopark is the largest information technology park in India in terms of built up area, with around 4 million square feet.
Infosys got possession of close to 50 acres of SEZ land at Technocity, as per documents filed with Kerala government. This approval was obtained in 2012 and possession was given in 2013. Currently, Infosys employs 4,500 people in Technopark.
As per the agreement, the construction should have started within a year from the date of lease deed, in this case at least from the date of handing over the possession along with notified SEZ status, as per the documents.