Representative image of an Industrial Park.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Bengaluru: After staying away from Bengaluru for several years, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has decided to form its next big industrial town around Sarjapur, which comes under Bengaluru Urban district. The 647-acre layout bordering Tamil Nadu is spread over six villages. The move may, however, see strong resistance as it runs contrary to the government’s plan to decongest the city.
According to the document accessed by DH, KIADB cleared the proposal to establish an industrial park in six villages situated between Attibele and Sarjapur during its last board meeting held on February 20. It cited an increased demand from industries to set up their businesses in Bengaluru.
The villages where the new township is proposed are: Bikkanahalli, S Medahalli, Adigara Kallahalli, Sollepura, Muthanallur Amanikere and Handenahalli. These villages come under Sarjapur hobli of Anekal taluk. A month after the board’s approval, KIADB is learnt to have issued preliminary notification for the acquisition of these properties.
KIADB, during its meeting, points out that there is a huge demand from industrialists to set up their industries in Bengaluru but there is not enough land available. It goes on to state that industrial parks such as Bommasandra, Jigani, Dommasandra link road, Attibele, Veerasandra and Electronics City – which together spread over 3,316 acres – have run out of space.
The report of KIADB’s special land acquisition officer, which was presented in the board meeting, has noted the villages to be very suitable for establishing an industrial park, stating a majority of the land is “agricultural” or “vacant”. “There is not much development in the region,” the report stated, adding the national highway is about 5 km away.
The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) welcomed the proposal. “The hardware park in Bagalur was the last industrial town developed by KIADB in Bengaluru. There is a need for more such industrial townships provided all amenities including roads, grid power, water etc are available,” Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, president of the chamber said.
A senior KIADB official said the farmers will be compensated as per the 2014 Act, which is equivalent to the market rates. “There will generally be no resistance from land-losers as the compensation is two to four times the guidance value,” he said, adding that KIADB would fund the acquisition cost by allotting or auctioning the existing vacant lands.
‘Not right’
Multiple stakeholders DH spoke to were of the opinion that the proposal to form an industrial town in Bengaluru was not a step in the right direction. They wondered what was the necessity for the government to acquire land when it had already tweaked a law, allowing industrialists to buy agricultural land directly from farmers.
“When Bengaluru’s outskirts are already struggling for water, what is the necessity of destroying fertile land? KIADB has been converting industrial land for residential use. So, the claim that there is a shortage of industrial land is not true. The least it can do is to earmark some areas as industrial zones in the revised master plan,” a source privy to the development said.