Jagadish Shettar-led delegation visits Gujarat special investment region

Shettar visited the Dholera Special Investigation Region, which he said was Modi’s dream project

A delegation led by Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar on Friday held talks with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to make notes on how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state was implementing the special investment regions (SIR).

Shettar’s study tour, however, drew flak from the Congress and JD(S).

According to a release, Shettar said his visit was to understand how the SIR played a significant role in Gujarat’s industrial growth.

Shettar visited the Dholera SIR, which he said was Modi’s dream project. “It is India’s first planned SIR and the first smart city,” he said. “The SIR has resulted in more investments flowing into Gujarat. Karnataka has also announced SIRs and we wanted to get more information on this. We discussed with the Gujarat CM on the changes that his state had made to the industrial policy and rules,” he added.

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Shettar’s team also visited the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) among other industrial projects and “we observed how they function,” the release said. “During our meeting with the Gujarat CM, we discussed how their land acquisition process worked. We told him about our policies as well,” the release said.

Reacting to Shettar’s visit to Gujarat, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) called it “a waste of money.” “All that Shettar had to do was check videos on YouTube on the GIFT City. It has not taken off in the last 10-12 years. Perhaps, even the people of Gujarat have forgotten about it. Instead of looking at the Gujarat Model, we should look within our state where enough models have been created,” he said.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar wondered what the Gujarat Model really was. “Is creating joblessness the Gujarat Model? Let the state government go to Gujarat and study, I don’t have any objection. But let them give justice to our people,” he said. “Karnataka has received not even 50% of the Covid-19 vaccines that Gujarat got,” he added.