Even as the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC) chalks out plans to upgrade the crumbling infrastructure in 157 industrial estates in the State, the industries are mooting damage control on their own.
In a proposal made through the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), the industrial units operating from these estates have voiced readiness to undertake infrastructure upgrades by forming township authorities in each of these townships.
According to the Karnataka Municipalities Act, the Industrial Township Authority can consist people including an elected chairperson, members elected from among owners of industrial establishments and representatives from the Commerce and Industries Department and Urban Development Department.
“Though taxes were being collected by local authorities (CMCs in many cases) for maintaining the estates, the infrastructure situation is dismal. Especially alarming is the condition of roads,” FKCCI president R C Purohit said.
KSIIDC Managing Director Azeezulla Baig pointed out that though service taxes are being collected for maintenance of the estates, the standards of civic amenities in the estates left a lot to be desired.
Taking the concept of industrial township authority further, Peenya Industries Association (PIA) has made a proposal in this connection. According to PIA President Srikanta Dutta, the proposal will get an impetus once the delimitation exercise is formally completed. The Peenya Industrial Estate functioned under the erstwhile Dasarahalli CMC.
“If the proposal comes through, PIA will collect taxes from the industrial units. The revenue-sharing model — in accordance with the gazetted norms — has also been proposed,” Mr Dutta told Deccan Herald. According to the Act, 30 per cent of the property tax collected by the township authority has to be remitted to the local authority under whose jurisdiction the township functions. The township authority is entitled to maintain its own funds that include government grants, loans, taxes, levies and tolls.
Though the authority, as a concept, has captured the interest of industrialists, it has by and large remained on paper. The latest moves from the industry in support of the proposal only highlights the loss of its faith in the existing infrastructure maintenance system in the estates. “It’s only after coming under the BBMP that Peenya is getting to see some development, Mr Dutta said.