Better infrastructure for industrial areas

Better infrastructure for industrial areas

Special Correspondent
Rs. 35 crore will be spent on works in the first stage: Nirani


Murugesh Nirani
BANGALORE: Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh R. Nirani on Monday announced that roads, sewerage lines and other infrastructure facilities would be provided in Peenya, Jigani, Bommasandra, Devasandra and other industrial areas in Bangalore Urban district and that Rs. 35 crore would be spent on such works in the first stage.

Addressing presspersons after an industrial adalat, organised by the Department of Industries and Commerce at the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association Hall here, the Minister said that 86 problems were brought before the meeting and that 64 could be solved. Some of them related to liberalisation of tax structure and subsidy for small industrial units.

The Minister said that a meeting of principal secretaries of the departments concerned would be convened next week to discuss the modalities of helping industrialists.

Representatives of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries would be invited to it.

Minister for SSI and Sericulture Venkataramanappa said that more funds would be made available for creating infrastructure in other industrial areas in the second stage. He said that for the first time, 860 entrepreneurs, belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from all over the State, had been given industrial plots.

Mr. Nirani said he had agreed to consider staggered power supply to industrial areas, across the State with a day’s holiday in a week, so that the units could get quality and uninterrupted supply for at least 22 hours. The duration of supply might be reduced to 20 hours during February, March, April and May, and the new thinking might help them considerably. But he said that it could be implemented only if the associations discussed the matter with their members and write to the department.

The Minister said he had discussed the issue with senior officials of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and Escoms. He said that the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) Chief Executive Officer T. Sham Bhat had agreed to reduce the service charges on the land identified by entrepreneurs for acquisition from 22 per cent to 12 per cent.

He said that 250 acres of land had been returned to the KIADB by industrialists and it expected the return of another 250 acres shortly. Mr. Nirani said that Karnataka would become a steel hub in the country with huge investment coming from giants such as ArcelorMittal.

He said that 8,000 MW of power generation, laying gas lines along the national highways from Chennai to Bangalore and Bangalore to Mangalore would change the industrial scene of the State. KASSIA president M.C. Dinesh exuded confidence that these steps would provide an impetus to SSI units.