Govt looks beyond Bangalore

Govt looks beyond Bangalore
By R Krishnakumar DH News Service Bangalore:
With the High Court directing the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board against acquiring land in Bangalore, the State government is looking to replicate Bangalore’s SEZ boom in other parts of the State.

The State government is looking to replicate Bangalore’s Special Economic Zones (SEZ) boom in other parts of the State.

This follows the High Court directive to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board against acquisition of any land in Bangalore.

Large and Medium Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu is making sure that the State doesn’t end up with a Nandigram. The door is still wide open to investors. More so, to investors in tier-II and tier-III towns.

Mr Naidu said the government’s efforts to take development beyond the City will continue. “Investors are seeking facilities for education, accommodation and connectivity. If we take the Bidar example, we are short of human resources there. Other tier II and III towns have their own shortcomings, but investors are opening up to their potential,” he said.



B’lore-centric

According to officials in the Commerce and Industries Department, there’s a demand for 8,000 acres of industrial land in Bangalore and its fringes. “A recent government circular stated that investors were required to deposit 20 per cent of the total investment upfront, but they don’t seem to mind,” a department official said.

If SEZ figures are any indication, the State’s industrial growth continues to be Bangalore-centric. The 29 approved SEZs in Karnataka will clock investment of Rs 14,124 crore. Of these 29, only eight with a proposed combined investment of Rs 1,381.46 crore will come up outside the City. That is less than 10 per cent of the total proposed SEZ investment in the State. And of these eight approved SEZs, only three involve investment of more than Rs 100 crore (two of them by IT bellwether Infosys, in Mangalore and Mysore).

However, Mr Naidu is looking at a trend reversal. “Efforts are on to take industrial development out of Bangalore. There are Rs 3,500-crore worth proposals lined up for Mangalore. The figure is Rs 690 crore for Shimoga and Rs 1,050 crore for Belgaum. In Raichur, we are expecting investments worth up to Rs 3,000 crore,” Mr Naidu said.

The potential of Hubli-Dharwad and Bellary as automobile and steel hubs were also being explored. Expressions of Interest were being called for construction of airports at Gulbarga, Bijapur, Shimoga, Hassan and Bidar.