Ordinance on land reforms in a week: Revenue minister

Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Tuesday said that an ordinance will be issued soon to repeal some of the sections in the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 that have become "hurdles" for industrialists.

Speaking at an interactive meeting with Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (Kassia), the minister said that he had already replied to the questions raised by the Opposition over the changes in the Act.

He said Sections 79 A,B and 80 of the Act prohibit the acquisition and holding of agricultural land by non-agriculturists and transfer of land to such persons.

"As far as the questions of the Opposition are concerned, nobody has spoken after I gave my reply. Our stand is very clear. We have fixed the ceiling of 108 acres to ensure big industries do not acquire large parcels of land. There is no possibility of acquiring thousands of acres of land under the amendment," he said.

After Kassia members and heads of various industry associations from across the state welcomed the government's move, Ashoka said: "Since the Assembly is not in session, an ordinance will be issued within a week to expedite the process of the reform. We have to change as per the time. We can't compete with other states with age-old laws," he said.

In a memorandum submitted to the minister, Kassia president R Raju said that removing the restrictions on non-agriculturists purchasing land and the non-agricultural income cap would enable entrepreneurs to directly deal with the land owners to buy land for industrial purposes.