Karnataka Minister MB Patil Defends Land Deal with Jindal Steel
Karnataka’s Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil has defended the government’s decision to execute a lease-cum-sale deed of 3,677 acres of land in Ballari to Jindal Steel Company. He asserted that the transaction was in full compliance with the law, following a government order, court directive, and cabinet resolution.
Patil emphasized that Jindal paid the market price and that all government regulations were strictly followed. He noted that the same rules applied to over one lakh industries in the state were applied in Jindal’s case as well. The issue had been unnecessarily dragged on for nearly nine years.
Looking ahead, Patil mentioned that a global investor conference would be held in Bengaluru in six months. He highlighted that Jindal has invested Rs90,000 crore in the state and created 50,000 jobs. He stressed that no wrong message should be sent to potential investors by the government.
Patil further explained that, as per the industrial policy, entrepreneurs provided land by the government are required to utilize at least 51% of it within ten years while keeping their operations running. The sale contract is then executed as per policy, and Jindal has fully complied with these requirements.
He also expressed confusion over why some people in the past opposed the lease-cum-sale of land to Jindal, clarifying that there had been no protests against Jindal by the Congress in the past. Earlier objections were raised only against Janardhana Reddy. In response to a query, he confirmed that no mining activities were taking place on the land decided for sale to Jindal.
Doubts Revealed
Karnataka -: Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It has many big cities like Bengaluru, which is known as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’ because of its tech industry.
MB Patil -: MB Patil is a politician in Karnataka. He is the Minister for Large and Medium Industries, which means he helps manage and support big businesses in the state.
Jindal Steel -: Jindal Steel is a big company in India that makes steel. Steel is a strong metal used to build things like buildings, cars, and bridges.
Ballari -: Ballari is a district in Karnataka. It is known for its rich history and also for having many natural resources like iron ore.
lease-cum-sale -: Lease-cum-sale means that the land is first given on rent (lease) and then sold to the company. This way, the company can use the land for a long time.
market price -: Market price is the usual price at which something is bought or sold in the market. It means Jindal Steel paid the normal price for the land, not a special or lower price.
global investor conference -: A global investor conference is a big meeting where people from all over the world come to discuss and invest in businesses. It helps bring money and jobs to the area.
mining activities -: Mining activities involve digging into the ground to find and take out valuable minerals like iron, gold, or coal. In this case, no such digging will happen on the sold land.
