HUBBALLI: Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Monday looked deeply disappointed over the alleged bureaucratic hurdles in clearing investment proposals related to the North Karnataka region. He did not mince words while criticising the announcement of a greenfield international airport for Kittur, by stating that “one should stop announcing projects just to seek publicity”.
In fact, the senior BJP leader is sulking as he is feeling left out of every activity -- both in the government and his party. He chose the Techceleration platform to vent his ire against the dispensation. He selectively targeted the Commerce and Industry Department for not acting swiftly on the investment proposals of Hubballi-Dharwad.
“While I was industries minister, all proposals used to get cleared in just three months. Aequs SEZ Limited getting clearance and taking possession of 400 acres of land for its CEDG cluster in Hubballi-Dharwad is testament to that. However, the situation is not the same now,” he claimed.
Shettar expressed his anguish over fixing the rate for the leftover land at Aryabhata Tech Park developed between Hubballi and Dharwad. Stating that the issue was pending for years due to negligence of departments concerned, he added it is now fixed at Rs 54 crore per acre. “Such bureaucratic hurdles have kept companies away from the region. The same is being witnessed with regard to the proposed FMCG cluster in Dharwad,” he said.
Meanwhile, questioning the announcement of a greenfield airport for Kittur by Large & Medium-scale Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, he asked where is the land for the airport and if any land survey was conducted. “How is it possible when there is a lot of scope for expansion of Hubballi and Belagavi airports? Moreover, how is it feasible to develop an international airport without international travellers? One should not make announcements just for gaining publicity,” he remarked.Stating that a bill for announcing Dharwad as a special investment region is still pending before the government, Shettar appealed to get approval from both Houses of the Legislature.