K'taka puts land auction on hold

The Karnataka government has put on hold its decision to auction 408 acres of surplus land acquired for the new Bangalore International Airport near Devanahalli.

The government has now proposed to lease the land to developers and mobilise resources for infrastructure development in the state.

In March, the government had proposed to auction 408 acres in parcels of 25 acres to raise Rs 2,000 crore.

"However, we have found that leasing the land will mobilise more resources. The finance department has been asked to prepare a report," Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

The decision to put on hold the auctioning of the land was taken after Karnataka State Industrial Investment Development Corporation and the Infrastructure Department opposed it.

"These agencies are of the opinion that leasing the land will be more beneficial than auctioning it. Therefore, we are going by their suggestion," he added.

The government had acquired around 2,000 acres near Devanahalli for the international airport. However, it handed over close to 1,600 acres to the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) to execute the project and retained 408 acres.

The BIAL had repeatedly sought the transfer of 408 acres for its future expansion plans. However, the government withheld the allotment of land.