The manner in which the State government is set to handle nearly 120 acres of land — on which the now defunct New Government Electric Factory (NGEF) once functioned — will be keenly watched in real estate circles in Bengaluru.
While in an earlier move, the High Court struck down the government’s move to sell the vacant land to a realty developer, a top official in the government said, “As of now, the land is reserved for public purposes.”
The sale of the large extent of land near Byappanahalli, where once the famed NGEF churned out pumps and switch gears and transformers in 2005, had turned into a major controversy. “The government will receive the land after completion of the liquidation process, which is in advanced stage,” the official said.
The Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC) is currently calculating the value of the 9.76 per cent share that a German company, AEG, held in the NGEF.
AEG was acquired by the Daimler group and has local representatives, who are in talks with the government to value the extent of the shares. “The moment we settle these issues, the land will be returned to the government,” the official said.
One-time settlement
Shut down since 2004, there are still 122 employees on the payrolls of the NGEF, who have steadfastly refused to opt for any voluntary retirement schemes till now. However, with no hope of revival, officials say that around 30 employees have accepted a one-time settlement scheme, which was proposed to them.
“The employees were offered a one-time settlement and 30 of them have accepted. Around 80 have not. The decision is now with the Cabinet on whether they should go ahead with the settlement. Earlier, VRS schemes were offered in 1998 and 2002. This is one of the dues that are still pending,” said a senior official.
Readers' suggestions
We asked our readers for suggestions on what could be done with the available land. Here are some suggestions:
Let's not allow an inch of space fr const d existing buldgs retained for Admn and Bio experiments.Never to Real Est >https://t.co/7hvEwHOJXa
— venugopal (@ksvenu247) >March 14, 2016
The Bpac, Envrtlst to ensure this s converted to Bio park of East with lung space for oxygen Gen and public gardens >https://t.co/7hvEwHOJXa
— venugopal (@ksvenu247) >March 14, 2016
>@BloreConnect>@ksvenu247 Park with pond, birds, pet friendly, space for cultural events, cycling/jogging track, lots of trees is a must!
— L'introverso (@Introverso90) >March 14, 2016
