BENGALURU: Chief whip of Opposition in the Legislative Council N Ravi Kumar on Tuesday alleged that industries from Karnataka are migrating to other states because of the failure of the state government to provide basic infrastructure to them. Speaking during question hour, Kumar said due to the migration of industries, lakhs of youth in the state have lost their jobs.
“Toyota’s Rs 25,000 crore investment went to Maharashtra. Likewise, many industries have shifted to Telangana, Tamil Nadu and other states. In the past two years, 754 factories shut operations and 46,500 people lost jobs,” Kumar said. He said other states offer good infrastructure for industries. But many places in the state, including Bengaluru, lack basic facilities such as good roads, water, and electricity. He demanded that the government improve infrastructure and take measures to prevent industries from migrating to other states.
Replying on behalf of Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh defended the government, stating that no industry had moved out of the state because of lack of infrastructure. “In the past three years, the government granted permission for 2028 projects.
This move is expected to generate 7,16,148 jobs with an investment of Rs 5,11,732 crore. Already, 81 projects have commenced operations with an investment of Rs 69,564 crore, generating 1,06,225 jobs,” Suresh said.
On the closure of factories, Suresh said that it was because of factors such as finance and arbitration, and the government had no role in it.