Karnataka government plans to revive 'land bank' to woo investors

The state government is planning to reintroduce the ‘land bank’ concept, Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said Wednesday.

“The ‘land bank’ is crucial for Karnataka’s industrial growth, as several projects fail to take off on account of unavailability of land,” Nirani told DH.

Nirani pointed out that he had introduced the ‘land bank’ concept during his previous tenure as the industries minister. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government discontinued it, “undoing our efforts”, Nirani said. “Back then, as part of the effort to create a land bank, Karnataka had secured 1.25 lakh acres of uncultivable land from farmers for industrial purpose,” he said.

In order to woo investors to the state, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was imperative to have readily available land, Nirani asserted. “We will gather district-wise information on available land. Then, we will come up with a plan for the amount of land to acquire,” he said. “Day by day, land acquisition is becoming a tough job. Hence, we need to ensure that there is some ready parcel of land available for investment.”

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The government’s plans to keep land ready comes ahead of the flagship global investors meet Invest Karnataka scheduled for March 2022. Through the meet, which will be held if the Covid-19 situation stabilizes, the state government hopes to draw investors to Karnataka to rejig the pandemic-hit economy, the minister said. “The government needs to be ready with land, competitive pricing on electricity and subsidies for investors to set up shop in Karnataka,” said Nirani, an industrialist himself.

According to officials in the industries department, the state’s present approach to land acquisition is only need-based. “In the recent years, we have not made any efforts to procure large tracts of land to create a bank,” an official from the industries department told DH.

The industries department will also soon put in place a system where banks will contact investors directly once projects are approved. This will boost investors’ confidence, Nirani said. Also, while until now, issuing the absolute sale deed for industries drags on for years together, the government will make efforts to reduce this time period. “If the sale deed is issued earlier, the investor can apply for working capital. At present, investors are unnecessarily having to wait for a long duration,” he added.