Only dry land for mega IT hub, CM tells Centre

Apprehending farmers’ resistance to acquisition of land for its proposed mega Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) near Bangalore International Airport, the Karnataka Government has informed the Centre that it will acquire only dry and non-cultivable land for the project.

The ITIR, approved by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday, will require 10,500 acres from 42 revenue villages in Devanahalli and Doddaballapur taluks.

The land was identified by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) and preliminary notification for acquisition of 2,072 acres for the Phase I in 2012 had been issued.

The remaining land will be acquired subsequently during the implementation of the second phase between 2020-2032.  The State Government has assured the Centre that mainly dry land is acquired and existing tenements and settlements will not be disturbed.

 As the project envisages processing and non-processing zones, the state government will ensure the processing areas will come up only on dry land to minimise acquisition of cultivable land, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told Deccan Herald on Thursday.  A senior official of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, told Deccan Herald here that it would, indeed, be challenging to acquire a large tract of land as the new land acquisition bill is yet to get Parliament nod, but the state has assured the Centre that maximum compensation would be provided to land owners.  The project aims at generating about 1.2 million direct and 2.8 million indirect jobs. It will transform the region into a major satellite town of Bangalore.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology is a partner of the project.
As National Highway 207 passes through the project site, the Ministry of Highways will widen the road at a cost of Rs 650 crore by March 2015. The Centre has agreed to provide Rs 6,360 crore for metro rail connectivity from the international airport, which is expected to be completed by March 2019.

 The state government estimated that the ITIR, when fully developed,  would have the  potential to generate an annual turnover of Rs 2.01 lakh crore by 2032, of which 70 per cent contribution would come from IT and IT enabled services sector.