Jindal land row: Government told to be cautious

The government’s move to convert the lease of 3,667 acres land to the JSW Steel in Ballari into a sale deed was raised in the Cabinet on Thursday amid the controversy surrounding the issue.

It is learnt that Cabinet ministers wanted the government to tread with caution over the issue, and they are said to have pressed for some conditions to be imposed on the company before the land is handed over.

“The Cabinet discussed that the government should ensure that local Kannadigas are employed by the company as per the Sarojini Mahishi guidelines,” RDPR minister Krishna Byre Gowda told reporters. On protests by the BJP and even senior Congress leader H K Patil, Gowda said, “The company has fulfilled all the lease conditions,” and directed further queries to Industries Minister K J George.