Pvt firms to maintain industrial zones

The State government is considering to rope in private companies to develop and maintain industrial estates, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after a review meeting to follow up investment bids received at Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) 2012, Gowda said that the proposal is one of several ideas being considered by the government to help make the State more investment-friendly.

According to the chief minister, allowing private companies to develop and maintain industrial estates would help industries develop zones to suit their requirement and infrastructure needs.

Proposals received will be reviewed every month by a high-level committee headed by the Industries Minister. 

“I will also review the cases once every three months,” he said, adding that the State government had signed investment proposals worth Rs 7.6 lakh crore at GIM 2012.

Based on feedback received at GIM-2012, the government has also decided to take up measures to strengthen the single window system for clearing investment proposals.

The government is working on a comprehensive plan to make land acquisition for
industries faster and at the same time more transparent, he said.

Gowda said the the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU),  an independent bureau within The Economist Group, had rated Karnataka as 16th among the top 20 investment destinations across the world.