Destination Hubli stymied by land row

Development of Hubli as IT hub suffers setback

The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation is in a fix over the allotment of land to the IT and ITeS sector to develop Hubli as a tier-two IT hub.

Not much has been achieved to attract investors to Hubli after the much-hyped May 20 Hubli Investors' Meet.

The authorities are finding it difficult to move ahead with the proposed projects reportedly because of the stance taken by different politicians.

Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had promised all help from the state government to develop Hubli as an IT hub with all necessary infrastructure.

Taking this forward, the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) passed a resolution earmarking 56 acres in Rayapur for the IT/ITeS sector.

It also constituted an IT Land Advisory Committee led by former president of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Madan Desai. Accepting the recommendations of the committee, the HDMC had offered land to four IT/ITeS companies.

However Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rejected the 25 acres offered to it, saying the company required at least 50 acres. But it is not in a position to allot the land to four other IT companies on the waiting list as recommended by the advisory committee.

This is reportedly because of reservations on the part of the leader of the opposition in the legislative council H K Patil. Thus, the HDMC is left holding 25 acres of vacant land earmarked for IT.

Former law minister H K Patil reportedly wants the land for the proposed Karnataka Law University and the IT industry shifted to some other place.

However, sources close to H K Patil said the former law minister was not against the development of the IT sector in North Karnataka and he had not opposed the allotment of land to the IT/ITeS sector.

"He was instrumental in getting the law university to Hubli-Dharwad resisting pressure from his cabinet colleagues, who wanted it to be set up in their region. In fact, he has suggested that a silicon city be developed on 300-400 acres of land near Hubli-Dharwad," the sources said.

Unable to implement its resolution, the HDMC sought the intervention of revenue minister Jagadeesh Shettar who is also the minister in-charge of Dharwad district. He held a meeting on July 26 where it was decided that the land be set aside for IT industries.

Some citizens have questioned the need for a law university. Their contention is that setting up separate universities for each stream of education will reduce the importance of the institution.

Karnataka already has universities for engineering and technology, health sciences, veterinary science, women, Kannada and agriculture sciences besides Karnataka, Mysore, Gulbarga, Mangalore and Kuvempu universities.

Setting up another university will be a burden on the government's exchequer, they argue.