4-member panel formed on land for JSW

The State government on Wednesday set up a four-member Cabinet sub-committee headed by Home Minister M B Patil to look into its controversial decision to sell 3,667 acres of land in Ballari district to JSW Steel.

Co-operation Minister Bandeppa Kashanpur, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge are the other members of the sub-committee. The Cabinet will the final decision on the issue based on the panel’s report.

Industries Minister K J George, who had strongly defended the government’s decision, is not a part of the committee. Ballari District Incharge Minister D K Shivakumar and Revenue Minister R V Deshpande, too, have kept themselves away.

The government’s decision to hand over the land had met with stiff resistance from senior Congress leader H K Patil and JD(S) state president A H Vishwanath, leading to immense embarrassment to the government. Opposition BJP, which had staged three-day dharna against it, had accused the coalition government of taking kickbacks from JSW Steel for giving the land.