Karnataka to probe misuse of land by industries

It is reported some industries which acquired land during GIM in 2010, 2012 transferred it to others

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah today promised the legislative assembly that the government would conduct an inquiry into the alleged misuse of land acquired by industries.

“The contribution of industries to the development of the state is immense and setting up of industries will lead to creation of employment and increased economic activity. We will conduct a detailed inquiry into all cases of land misuse by the industries, which acquired land through the Global Investors’ Meet in 2010 and 2012,” Siddaramaiah said.

Replying to the debate on the issue of misuse of industrial land raised by Basavaraj Rayareddy in the state assembly on Friday, the chief minister said the government will take stern action on those who acquired industrial land and sold it to someone else for purposes other than industrial activity.

“After we announced the new industrial policy, investors from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have come forward to set up industries in the state. From now on, we will not sell land in the state, but lease it to industries for a period of 99 years,” Siddaramaiah said.

From the time the Congress came to power in the state about 21 months ago, the state high level clearance committee (SHLCC) has approved investment proposals totalling Rs 54,500 crore.

He said the state had attracted investment proposals worth Rs 6.73 lakh crore during the Global Investors Meet in 2010 and 2012. But the actual investment realised was just about 7 per cent of it, amounting to Rs 45,500 crore, he clarified.

Rayareddy suggested to the government to recover land from those investors who transferred land allotted to them.

Intervening in the debate, R V Deshpande, minister for higher education and tourism, stated that any such action against prestigious industries would send wrong signal to the investor community and affect the image of the state.

Speaker of the House Kagodu Thimmappa suggested conducting a detailed inquiry into such cases of land misuse by investors. The chief minister agreed and announced that the government would soon initiate an action in this regard.

The chief minister said tax collections in the state have increased 14.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 55,726 crore at the end of January. The state has achieved 80 per cent of the total target set for the current financial year at Rs 69,870 crore, he said. The commercial taxes collection has gone up 16.8 per cent to Rs 34,362 crore during the same period, he added.