Jindal land deal stalled, cabinet panel to review it
BENGALURU: In the face of stiff opposition to the sale of 3,667 acres of land to Jindal Steel Works (JSW) in Ballari by BJP as well as senior Congress leader H K Patil, the Karnataka cabinet on Friday decided to defer the process. The matter will be referred to a cabinet sub-committee which will be formed by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Despite getting clearance from the cabinet earlier, the lease-cum-land sale deal with JSW has been stalled following severe opposition. The decision to form a cabinet sub-committee came on the day the BJP launched a two-day overnight sit-in protest against the deal.“Following Industries Minister K J George’s appeal to the cabinet, a sub-committee will be formed to review the decision on the sale of land to JSW,” said RDPR Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.
JSW deal: Panel mere eyewash, says BJP
“The minister has asked to be excused from the committee but the CM will take a decision on who will be part of it and who will head it,” said Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda while briefing the media later. He added that undue public discussion and debates over the deal had led the government to review its decision. “Most ministers believe that the decision taken earlier was right, but to respect public sentiment, we are reviewing it,” Krishna Byre Gowda said.
Despite opposition from within, the Congress has been maintaining that the deal was okayed by the BJP when it was in power. The sub-committee is expected to review the MoU with JSW, time intervals of agreement and renewals and under which government, as well as whether JSW has fulfilled all commitments made under the MoU to be eligible for the land sale. The BJP, however, has termed the sub-committee as a mere eyewash.