Cabinet panel to look into Jindal deal row

The state Cabinet on Friday decided to constitute a sub-committee to review the sale of 3,667 acres of land to JSW Steel in Ballari, after a controversy put the H D Kumaraswamy government on the back foot.

"The sub-committee will look into all aspects — when it happened, under whom it happened and so on," Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said, briefing reporters.

The Cabinet has authorised Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to constitute the sub-committee, Gowda said.

The Cabinet had decided on May 27 to convert the lease of 3,667 acres into sale for the Sajjan Jindal-promoted firm. The company will be charged Rs 1.22-1.50 lakh per acre.

Industries Minister K J George and Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the Ballari district in-charge minister, strongly defended the government’s decision earlier in the day.

“During the Cabinet meeting, it was George himself who suggested that a sub-committee be constituted,” Gowda said. “And he asked to be recused from being a part of the committee. Almost all ministers still maintained that there was nothing wrong with the government’s decision,” he said.