1,200 acres to be acquired for aircraft component plant

1,200 acres to be acquired for aircraft component plant

The Hindu

The manufacturing facility has been planned at Devanahalli

# The plant will come up near the international airport
# Five domestic companies and a few foreign firms have submitted proposals



Katta Subramanya Naidu

BANGALORE: The State Government has decided to acquire 1,200 acres to set up an aircraft component manufacturing plant near the international airport at Devanahalli in Bangalore Rural district.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, Minister for Industries Katta Subramanya Naidu said five domestic companies and a few firms from the United States, Australia and Europe had submitted proposals to set up the plant near the international airport.

The estimated investment was Rs. 6,000 crore. A notification would be issued soon to acquire the land, he said.

A decision had been taken to acquire 1,000 acres at Devanahalli to set up a hardware park.

Adequate compensation would be provided to farmers who would lose their land for the projects. The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) had acquired land from farmers at Narasapura in Kolar district by paying Rs. 6 lakh per acre, he said.

The Industries Department had decided to acquire land in various parts of the State with a view to industrialising these areas.

In the last few months, KIADB had acquired 1,500 acres at Harohalli in Kanakapura taluk and Doddaballapur (Bangalore Rural) and Dobbspet (Bangalore Urban) to set up industrial townships.

An auto and ancillary component park would be established at Bidadi on a 500-acre plot, he said.

In a move to drive investment to other parts of the State, a decision has been taken to stall the land acquisition process for setting up Special Economic Zones in Bangalore Rural and Kolar districts.

The GMR Group had submitted a proposal to set up a sugar factory and two power plants in Shimoga district with an investment of Rs. 425 crore, Mr. Naidu said.

Referring to job opportunities, the Minister said that 50,000 unemployed graduates had been provided jobs under the Suvarna Kayaka Shikshana Yojane.

Another 50,000 would be absorbed in information technology and biotechnology sectors by March 31, 2007, he said.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had been roped in for executing the scheme, he added.

Meet

To provide employment to about three lakh unemployed graduates, a meeting of small and medium entrepreneurs had been called in March next.

Over 1.50 lakh entrepreneurs were expected to participate in it.

Each entrepreneur would be requested to provide jobs for two youths, Mr. Naidu added.

Land distribution

Speaking at an interactive meet organised by the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association, Mr. Naidu said that out of the 20,000 acres of land recovered by the State Government, 700 plots ranging from half acre to 20 acres had been distributed to small and medium industries.

"We can provide more land to industrial areas such as Peenya, Rajajinagar and Hebbal (Bangalore), but the industries must also reserve land for workers' quarters," Mr. Naidu said.