Bengaluru: The state Cabinet's decision on Monday to sell 3666 acres to Jindal Steel Works Limited in Ballari district has kicked up a storm with the BJP state unit alleging that the
JD(S)-Congress government has "hurried" to allot the land at a cheaper rate to the company only to "fill" its coffers out of fear that it could soon lose power in the state.
State BJP general secretary, C T Ravi claimed in Delhi that the Karnataka government had given 8,000 acres on lease in Sandur, Ballari district, to the JSW Steel plant in tranches since 1993 and was now selling over 3,000 acres of it to it at a throwaway price. “While the market value of the land near the steel plant is in the range of Rs 15-20 lakh per acre, the government's decision to sell it at only Rs 1.25 lakh per acre is against the interest of the state,” he charged, speaking to reporters. “The JD(S) and the Congress took the decision in a hurry out of fear of losing power and to fill their coffers. It was taken without looking into whether the company had met all the conditions such as the number of jobs created, and the impact on the environment.
The previous Congress deferred a decision on this matter as several cabinet members, including H K Patil, opposed it. I suspect corruption in crores... this should be stopped immediately," he said, warning that if required, the BJP would take legal action in the matter. Following the cabinet meeting on Monday, Rural Development Minister Krishna, Byregowda told reporters in Bengaluru that JSW Steels in Ballari was given 3,666 acres in 2005-06 on lease-cum-sale basis to set up a plant and under the agreement, the lease had to be converted to sale after 10 years, which had now been done.
But the decision has also met with opposition from within the Congress with KPCC Campaign Committee chairman, H K Patil urging the state government to review its cabinet decision. In a letter to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, he recalled that a Cabinet sub-committee had found several irregularities in mining on the land by Jindal, which had caused a loss of Rs 1200 crore to the government-owned, Mysore Minerals Limited. He said he had raised the issue in 2006 as an opposition leader in the Legislative Council when he had said the company owed the state government Rs 1200 crore. But instead of taking steps to recover the money, the government was selling 3666 acresat a throwaway price of Rs 1.22 lakh per acre, he said. Water resources minister, D K Shivakumar has, however, defended the decision, saying it would help create jobs in the area
