BENGALURU: Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Kolar district will get one of the biggest industrial townships in Karnataka, Large and Medium Scale Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said here on Friday.The State Government is doing a drone survey of 3,212 acres of land that belonged to Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML), along with 967 acres which were with BEML Ltd.
Responding to KGF MLA Roopakala M, who raised the issue of taking back land allotted to BEML, Shettar said the State government had given 1,870 acres to BEML, of which 967 acres were lying unused, and which the government took back. BGML had taken over 12,000 acres for gold mining, but not used 3,212 acres, he said.
“Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had written to Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi to hand over 3,212 acres to the State government. They had convened a meeting and decided on a land survey, which is being done using drones. If the land identified is not suitable for mineral exploitation, we can use it for the township,’’ Shettar said.
The wastelands of KGF, synonymous with British miners, the Champion Reef and the Anglo-Indian ghost town, have been the subject of many books and documentaries. Sources from the departments of Industries and Mines and Geology said they are assessing the presence of any natural resources, and if the land does not have any, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board will develop it into an industrial park.
He said if the State government gets 4,185 acres, they will convert them into industrial township layouts. In the new industrial policy, the government is focusing on attracting investors to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and generating more jobs.