Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday that the government has approved the allocation of 12,000 acres of land for a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) at Tumkur.
“We plan to set up two more NIMZs in Kolar and Gulbarga districts,” he told an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Council here.
Referring to the need for developing industries outside Bangalore, he urged the CII to partner the State in developing Mysore as a “major investment destination”.
Advocating the need for a “cluster-based approach” to industrialisation, Mr. Siddaramaiah urged industry houses to set up clusters in Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad and Mysore.
Mining lease
The Chief Minister said that fresh mining leases would only be issued to companies that would “add value” within Karnataka. Responding to a query from B. Muthuraman, Chairman, Tata Steel, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the government will decide on the allocation of leases that became available for reissue following a Supreme Court order in April. “We are going to take a decision on this (the allocation of leases) soon,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that gas supplies from Dabhol, transported by GAIL India’s pipeline, would enable Karnataka to become a “power-surplus” State in a few years.
CII president S. Gopalakrishnan urged Mr. Siddaramaiah to enunciate an exclusive State policy for renewable energy.
