Govt plans reclaim of unused industrial land in state

The Karnataka government is planning to reclaim unused industrial land from the investors as part of its efforts to create a large land bank in the state.

The Industries department plans to insert a clause in this direction in its new industrial policy, which will be announced very soon, the Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said.

Briefing reporters on the upcoming state delegation led by chief minister B S Yediyurappa to the World Economic Forum (WEF) being held at Davos in Switzerland from January 21 to 24 here on Friday, Shettar said the government was currently undertaking a survey of unused land across the state.

The government has also identified 30,000 acres of land to build a land bank and already issued final notification for acquisition of 12,000 acres across the state. The government intends to keep the land ready ahead of the proposed global investors meet being held from November 3 to 5, 2020 in Bengaluru.

“We are encouraging industries in Tier-II cities as Bengaluru is congested. We are developing land banks in various
Tier-II cities such as Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar,” Shettar said.

The government has identified 3,000 acres at Durgadakeri, 500 acres at Gamanagatti in Dharwad district and 520 acres at Kittur in Belagavi district and the the farmers have come forward to give up their land for industrial purpose, he said.

Replying to a query on conversion of the lease of 3,667 acres land to the Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Steel in Ballari into a sale, Shettar said the Cabinet would take a final decision on the issue.

“We are yet to decide the rate at which land is to be given to JSW Steel. The old agreement entered into between the company and the government was not proper and we will take legal opinion before taking the final decision,” Shettar said.

The state delegation will be holding one-to-one meetings with several industry leaders at Davos during the World Economic Forum from January 21. Already, the government has received confirmations from 45 out 200 companies. During the event, Karnataka pavilion will be opened on January 20 and a curtain-raiser event will be held on Invest Karnataka on January 22.

The chief minister will make a presentation on the investment opportunities in Karnataka at the WEF summit.