Land meant for industries should be transferred to Industrial Areas Development Board by Dec 15, says Karnataka CM

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has instructed his officials that they must transfer the land meant for industries to Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) by December 15. This should happen in all districts, and the officials cannot come up with lame excuses, he said, addressing a high-level committee set up to organise Invest Karnataka- 2016 global investors meet in February.

Karnataka has excellent investment climate, and holds second place in investments, he said. "If an investor comes forward to invest, we need to be prepared to provide them with land, electricity and water even before we sign the MoU," he told officials. "It is not correct to try to fix infrastructure issues after we sign the MoUs. I will not tolerate any delay about this," he said.

The Chief Minister mentioned about the Rs 7 trillion worth investment proposals that were signed at the previous meet in 2012 by the previous BJP regime, and wondered how many of them had materialised. "We should ensure such a thing is not repeated this time," he said.

The CM regretted that there has been a concerted campaign against his state with some people trying to mislead potential investors that they will not get water and electricity if they invest in the state.