Minister MB Patil.
Credit: DH photo
Belagavi: The government’s decision to drop acquisition of 1,777 acres in Devanahalli due to farmers’ protests will not be a setback to the Aerospace & Defence (A&D) Park project there, Industries Minister MB Patil told the Assembly on Friday.
Patil was replying to a question by Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad, who said the government should relocate the A&D Park to somewhere between Belagavi and Hubballi-Dharwad.
Farmers from 13 villages in the Channarayapatna hobli, Devanahalli taluk protested for 1,195 days against the acquisition of 1,777 acres of their lands before the government gave in.
“As a special case, we've dropped the acquisition of 1,777 acres and it'll continue as a permanent agricultural zone. Just because one parcel of land had to be dropped (from acquisition) doesn’t mean it’s a setback to the entire A&D Park. Demand in this region is growing, so we will have it there,” Patil specified.
There is a “natural ecosystem” for the aerospace and defence sectors in Bengaluru, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur, Patil said.
“The ecosystem is growing especially in Belagavi. For this, we must congratulate [entrepreneur] Aravind Melligeri whose Aequs, a private special economic zone, is catering to the likes of Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin,” Patil said.
The minister acknowledged the lack of an industrial corridor in Belagavi. “At a roadshow in Pune, I was asked to provide industrial space in Belagavi. But we have no space. We have now identified a piece of land for an industrial park,” Patil said.
People are moving to Maharashtra because of this, Patil said. “Yes, there’s Kanagala at the border, but locally in Belagavi, there’s no land. But the proposed industrial park should materialise,” he said.
Patil also said the Belagavi-Hubballi belt will benefit from the Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC), which will have 3,000 acres for aerospace and defence industries, including vendors and component manufacturers.
The government has also pitched for a defence corridor in Belagavi, Dharwad and Vijayapura. “The CM has met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on this. You [BJP] can also follow-up,” he said.