'Land losers for IT region seeking high compensation'

S R Patil, the IT&BT Minister, told the Council on Monday that a preliminary notification had been issued to acquire 2,070 acres in Devanahalli taluk for the Information Technology Investment Region and the land losers had sought that they be paid compensation as per the new land acquisition Act.

The total expanse of the ITIR would be 10,500 acres in Devanahalli and Doddaballapur taluks.

Replying to a query by M D Lakshminarayana (Ind), Patil said that the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) had already issued preliminary notification to acquire 2,070 acres under Section 28 (1) of KIADB Act.

However, with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, coming into effect from January 1 this year, land losers had sought compensation under the new Act. The government had taken cognisance of their demand, he said.

The ITIR project will be developed in two phases.

The I phase will be developed by 2020 and the second phase will be taken up between 2020 and 2035.

The project has the potential to create 12 lakh direct jobs in IT sector and 28 lakh indirect jobs. 

To another question by G Raghu Achar (Ind), Patil said the IT parks set up by Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (Keonics) in Gulbarga and Shimoga had not been occupied fully.

Hence, the government was going slow in sanctioning new IT parks in other cities. Achar had sought that the government set up an IT park in Chitradurga.

 The minister said his department would examine the feasibility of the proposal.